China Removes Over 1,000 Social Media Accounts, Citing Almost 13,000 Violations
Per BBC
Weibo, a Chinese social media site, has said it purposely suspended accounts criticizing country specialists for COVID-19. So far, the platform has removed over 1,000 accounts and has cited more than 13,000 violations.
In line with China's zero-Covid policy enacted in December, the government has taken strong actions towards enforcing its plans. Weibo has shared its part in the policy with a statement of why it removed the different accounts.
Weibo: "It is not acceptable to hurl insults at people who hold a different point of view, or publish personal attacks and views that incite conflicts,"
The Chinese social media platform announced that it was able to spot 13,000 violations. Among these violations include attacks reportedly towards China's experts, scholars, and medical workers.
The last time that China reported Covid deaths was in December 2022. In the last report, the country announced only 22 deaths from Covid. However, as highlighted in another BBC article, these came from using China's own criteria.
There have been increasing reports of hospitals and crematoriums starting to become overwhelmed since China reportedly abandoned certain parts of its zero-Covid policy. These changes came shortly after protests started to break out, per NYT.
A former editor for the Communist Party paper, the Study Times, Deng Yuwen, shared a statement regarding how the restrictions could drastically affect the economy and regular Chinese citizens alike.
Yuwen: "... Most fundamental of all, the economy can’t hold up any longer. If they try tightening up again, the ordinary people would really raise hell.”
Most criticism online was reportedly regarding the zero-Covid policy and its restrictions. Online criticism also included concerns about how the lockdowns required people to remain isolated at home for weeks.
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