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By Brenda Goh
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been met with a combination of complaints on Chinese social media, with some users describing it as a war with the West that portends what could happen if China seizes Taiwan, and others calling for peace.
The war is one of the most popular topics on Chinese social media, attracting millions of views and generating intense debates in a country that has had tensions with the United States and its Western allies.
While Beijing and its state media have refrained from criticizing Russia, but instead blaming NATO enlargement for the crisis and calling for talks on the situation, social media users have been more vocal, keeping censors busy on China’s heavily monitored internet.
On the social media platform Weibo, many users repeated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that he sought to “denazify Ukraine. “Some asked how they could simply donate to the Russian effort.
Others criticized Russia for intimidating Ukraine, saying they stood in solidarity with the invaded country, some of the posts were later cut off without explanation.
“Support Russia, kill the bird to scare the monkey,” said Weibo user Gushuqiuyu, a Chinese expression that means turning someone into an example to warn others.
The comment gained more than 4,000 likes, some suggesting that the editor “comment rationally. “
Other users said Beijing deserves to closely monitor the West’s reaction to Russia’s attack to get clues about the West’s imaginable reaction if China intervenes in Taiwan, an autonomous island it claims as its own, and prepare accordingly.
“Anything that targets Russia is a practice session for us,” said a popular comment on the news that global banks had opted to remove some Russian banks from the SWIFT payment system.
China has refused to condemn the attack through Russia, a spouse with whom it has become increasingly close to the West, and has continuously called for the confrontation to be resolved through dialogue.
Beijing says it respects the countries’ sovereignty, adding Ukraine, however, Russia’s considerations on NATO’s eastward expansion will need to be approached with kindness.
Along with the many pro-Russia comments, there are many others in favor of peace.
A 41-second clip of a lone man in Hangzhou City holding a sign saying “stop the war” was posted on NetEase’s video-sharing platform widely shared online on Sunday before being removed without explanation.
Another vital article about the WeChat messaging app that was later removed was a joint signature by five professors from primary institutions, adding Nanjing University and Tsinghua University, claiming they opposed Russia’s resolution against Ukraine.
“In the midst of all this noise, we feel the desire to make our voice heard,” the article read. “Peace is what the human heart aspires to. We oppose unjust wars. “
(Reporting via Brenda Goh; additional reporting via Muyu Xu and Shanghai Newsroom; editing via Tony Munroe and Pravin Char)