As the world was glued to the news of Russian strikes across its neighbour to the west yesterday, a ham-handed attempt at humour surfaced on Weibo – “Willing to shelter 18 to 24-year-old Ukrainian girls” – and began trending.
Weibo, China’s equivalent to Twitter, quickly took down the topic and hid most posts with the joke.
A search for similar terms now turns up comments condemning the sentiment, stressing war is no laughing matter.
“You’re ignoring the pain of civilians on this side of the world, fanning up war and empathising with power, making jokes of ‘taking in pretty girls’,” wrote one Weibo user named Dezhou Meimaoxia.
“You don’t realise that (even though) you’re temporarily fortunate enough to just watch the war, you might be in one by the next second. Nobody alone can escape the turbulence of our time.”
Another user, posting under the name Xueyexing Zhenduan, wrote: “The one that jokes about taking in a Ukrainian beauty and uses racist slurs on others, that’s you; the one that gets super-offended when somebody says ‘chingchong’, that’s also you.”
Many said they were sickened by posts and accounts that applauded Russia’s action.
Nonetheless, pro-Russia users found plenty of space on Weibo to voice their support for president Vladimir Putin.
“Residents of eastern Ukraine celebrate Putin recognising republics with fireworks” became the fourth-most-popular topic on the platform.
Some comments praised the Russian president’s boldness and assertiveness as a leader.
Not a few users seemed to take pride in China’s own careful response to the crisis, particularly foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying’s answer to a reporter’s question on whether Beijing plans to provide arms to Russia.
“On this issue, there is a fundamental difference between China and the US. When we see the risk of conflict, we won’t do the same as the US, who has offered Ukraine with a large amount of military equipment,” Hua said yesterday, according to the foreign ministry’s official transcript.
“I believe that as a strong country, Russia doesn’t need China or other countries to provide weapons to it.”
Hua’s response rose to No 2 on Weibo’s list of trending topics, as many netizens appreciated the way she drew a clear distinction between China and the US.
Hua avoided calling Russia’s attack an “invasion” but said China hoped all parties would return to dialogue and negotiation.
Beijing has blamed the US for “fanning” the conflict but has refrained from openly supporting or condemning Russia’s move.
The Chinese embassy in Ukraine said it was preparing to fly Chinese citizens home on charter planes, given the worsening security situation.
The embassy has also advised nationals to put a Chinese flag sticker on a clearly visible part of their cars.
This spawned another trending topic, after a Chinese student in Ukraine said his flag sticker had been “stolen”. Users focused on speculating about the nationality of the “thief” and on how having the Chinese flag makes them feel safe.
Meanwhile, an article with an expletive in the title, “People Who Cheer on Wars Are A*******,” has been circulating on WeChat, with over 21,000 shares and 35,600 likes.
“You applaud Putin, you think ‘he’s so strong’, ‘no wonder he’s a great emperor’, but would you be willing to be born along the border of Ukraine and become one of the countless refugees?” Tang Yishui, who says he is an “ordinary Gen Z” in his account bio, wrote in Chinese.
“History has shown us numerous times, if people are angry at war, it may not stop the war from happening, but if people cheer on war, then war will definitely take place.”
He concluded, “Do not be that a******* that pushes humanity to the abyss.”