Nationalist frenzy sweeps China as Pelosi visits Taiwan | China

W.There was a sense of shock and panic when news of Nancy Pelosi’s possible visit to Taiwan crept through Chinese state media late last month. News outlets have accused the US of violating the “One China Principle” and suggesting that it was “hypocritical” to say Joe Biden failed to hold back the Speaker of the House. , the message echoed throughout the country’s press.

Outrage reverberated online through the writings of experts and military bloggers. Some called Pelosi “the old witch.” “An American Old Lady,” others referred to her. Fu Shijing, a nationalist agitator and former editor of the Global Times, advised Chinese jets to jam Pelosi’s plane. I think it will be fine,” he wrote, to much fanfare.

In today’s Chinese society, such nationalist rhetoric often creates echo chambers, especially on issues related to China’s sovereignty.Beijing considers Taiwan part of China’s own territory. Generations of Chinese leaders want to “take it back” and have not abandoned the military buyout option as a last resort.

For days, the Weibo hashtag remained at the top of trendy topics, criticizing Pelosi and reiterating China’s determination to deter her. In the days that followed, many defiant statements appeared in nearly every official media outlet. In recent years, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, known for his “wolf warrior” style, has continued to speak harshly, and many commentators have responded favorably to their harsh anti-American rhetoric.

“You cannot go against the will of the people, and those who play with fire will perish in the fire,” declared Zhao Lijian, echoing President Xi Jinping’s warning to Biden last week. “The U.S. side is believed to be fully aware of China’s strong and clear message.” evoked the memory of

The atmosphere was intensified by warnings from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The PLA was preparing to celebrate its 95th anniversary when news of Pelosi’s visit first leaked. Perhaps unsurprisingly, as Pelosi embarked on an Asian tour, the military once again vowed not to “just sit on the sidelines” if U.S. politicians finally landed on Taiwan.

Then Tuesday night Pelosi Appears in TaipeiBy then, Fu’s belligerent post suggesting shooting down her plane had been removed by Twitter for violating its rules. It’s on hand,” Hu said shortly after the 82-year-old California Democrat arrived. “We will play one by one with confidence. The People’s Liberation Army has announced a series of actions.”

Despite the animosity toward Pelosi, it was also a big deal for Chinese media operators. One of his state-run websites set up a livestream on his official Weibo channel. At one point, 70 million viewers watched Pelosi arrive in Taiwan at the same time, and many commented, “National unity!”

Manya Koetse, who runs the WhatsOnWeibo website, said: “Ms Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan also generated a sense of unity on social media, where she was flooded with comments expressing support for the Chinese military and calling for unification with Taiwan.” “Multiple netizens also said, ‘When I wake up tomorrow, I hope that we will be united with Taiwan.’ Until this week, I have never seen such strong unity sentiment on Weibo.” It never happened. ”

Koetse added that the Pelosi case reminded him of Huawei’s Meng Wanzhou’s return from Canada last year. “Before Meng’s arrival in China, there were days when rhetoric piled up, just like it did with Pelosi. Meng, of course, was a symbol of national pride, but Pelosi was a disgrace to China.”

The People’s Liberation Army, which has vowed to respond, has announced it will. conduct large-scale training Missile tests around Taiwan island from Thursday. State media said this was to show how reckless Pelosi was. The military exercises ultimately put Asia in tension and called on Asian and European leaders to exercise restraint.

Still, it wasn’t enough for some. “I’m still angry! Four days of military exercises is too short. I admit that if a normalized round-the-island cruise comes through, it will be worth it!” wrote one Weibo user. said another. “If no action is taken after the military drills, this time it will be a complete failure of diplomacy and public opinion, and there is no point in saying much,” he said.

they are not alone. Beijing resident Ou said it was “a huge humiliation for China” when she saw Taipei 101 lit up to warmly welcome Pelosi. “As a major country with a population of 1.4 billion, we should not take our word for it when it comes to unifying Taiwan,” he said. “We have the ability.”

But Jin Lihan*, a Taiwanese living in Beijing, said he was worried. “Pelosi’s visit felt like the sort of excuse the PLA was looking for to show what the ‘military option’ would one day look like when it was rolled out in earnest. It looks like we could be put on a war footing soon, which is scary.”

A day before the exercise began on Thursday, the Global Times quoted Taiwan’s retired lieutenant general Herman Shuay as saying the exercise area was a “template” for “locking down Taiwan.” “This clog [of Taiwan] “It could be part of an action plan for future military reunification operations.”

Hu, who just failed to deter Pelosi, is now under attack. “President Hu’s longstanding rhetoric makes it clear that he loves war, wants war, and relentlessly pursues war even at the cost of eroding our country’s credibility,” he said. He has millions of followers and is known by the nickname Rabbit Chairman.

he asked: what does he really want?

*Name has been changed to protect personal information