In China, where the internet is tightly controlled and criticism of the economy or government quickly deleted, users are finding unusual and unexpected ways to make their feelings known.
An article by state news agency Xinhua about diving sports had to be removed on Tuesday after internet users began linking diving sports to trends in Chinese stocks, which have hit multi-year lows in recent weeks. Ta.
The U.S. Embassy’s social media posts about protecting giraffes in Africa also include requests that Chinese investors be allowed to become U.S. citizens, or that the U.S. government could spare a missile to bomb the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Users flooded with comments pleading with him, asking if he could give it to me.
As censors began deleting these comments, users turned to the Indian embassy’s page, which also asked, “How can we innovate and develop the stock market?” Can you tell me about the neighboring country? ”
The economy grew by just 5.2% in 2023, the slowest expansion of China’s economy in 30 years, excluding the first three years of the pandemic. Economists say one of the biggest obstacles to economic recovery is a crisis of public confidence.
Last month, Chinese Premier Li Qiang promised to take “strong” measures to support the stock market. And state media is full of positive reports ahead of China’s Lunar New Year holidays that the economy is “improving across the board,” from new infrastructure to the appearance of rare animals in nature reserves. .
Stocks rebounded on Tuesday, but authorities are still struggling to restore overall confidence. China’s benchmark index, the Shanghai Composite Index, ended 3.2% higher on Tuesday after six days of declines, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 4%.
Last week, when an article in the official People’s Daily claimed that “the whole country is full of optimism,” it was roundly ridiculed. One commenter countered: “The whole giraffe community is full of optimism.”
Internet users on Weibo are wishing a happy Year of the Dragon by using the names of companies whose stock prices have fallen by more than 7% in recent days. pic.twitter.com/07gJaUwLcT
— Lily Kuo (@lilkuo) February 6, 2024
In January, a question posted on the Zhihu online forum asked the public what changes they perceived in China’s “political progress” from 2010 to today. The post was quickly deleted after comments pointed to various setbacks, including falling housing and stock prices.
“Both were once very expensive, but they are now much cheaper and look like they will continue to go down.” will be able to purchase them.”
According to Bloomberg, Chinese President Xi Jinping was scheduled to meet with financial regulators on Tuesday to discuss the state of the stock market. Meanwhile, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has vowed to prevent “abnormal fluctuations” in the stock market and show “zero tolerance” to those who engage in “malicious short selling.”
But the main obstacle to restoring trust may be the government’s own attempts to stifle negative comments. In December, China’s Ministry of State Security warned the public against people trying to “defame China’s economy.” Analysis by economists and financial bloggers quickly began to disappear from the internet.
Reports on the current state of Chinese stocks this week have been encouraging. Nearly 70% of 60 economists are “optimistic” about Chinese stocks on the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchanges in 2024, and more than 80% say the market will He reported that he believed it would not fall. .
In response to such positive news, a financial blogger with the username Liu Jinghua wrote on Weibo: “People are not stupid.” “In this day and age, what we need more than anything is the ability to obtain information. Playing with words will not give anyone confidence.”
Pei-Lin Wu in Taipei contributed to this report.