In the most popular thread on the Sina Weibo network, the hashtag “Bless Hong Kong, bless the motherland” was accompanied by the explanation, taken from a post by state-owned CCTV:
“25 years ago, after a century of ups and downs, Hong Kong returned to the embrace of the motherland. Over the past 25 years, the Pearl of the Orient has become more and more dazzling.”
In the private South China Morning Post, which is from Hong Kong, the tone was not much different, starting with the headline “‘Rising from the ashes’: Xi hails Hong Kong’s resilience”.
In other party calls, “Xi sees Hong Kong as China’s international hub for innovation and technology”, “Coronavirus in Hong Kong is shifting from pandemic to endemic” and even “The 12 films that defined Hong Kong cinema in 25 years “.
Nanfang Zhoumo, seen as more independent of PC-linked outlets, headlined “Life in the Hong Kong Bay Area”, the same as the newspaper’s headquarters in Guangzhou.
He has heard from ordinary people statements such as: “I speak Mandarin outside the home, Cantonese at home and Chaoshan dialect with my family. I like it very much. I think I am a microcosm of the people of Hong Kong.”
Shanghai’s private portal Guancha highlighted a video by Hu Xijin, a former editor of the Global Times and still a reference for more nationalist journalism, saying that “Hong Kong’s uniqueness cannot be replaced by mainland Chinese cities”.
He added that cities like Singapore, another commercial hub with a Chinese majority, also “shouldn’t worry” about competition.
In any case, the 25-year-old was also featured in Singaporean newspapers such as Zaobao, with a headline for a video of Xi arriving in Hong Kong on a high-speed train (pictured above) and rant about the “city’s rebirth”. .
‘PIGS’
Days before the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s recovery by China, British The Economist compared, in an article and social media (above), the consumption of grain by pigs and Chinese.
Saying it had been “contacted by Chinese readers, who are opposed to the comparison”, it changed the text and took down posts, causing a reaction from other Brits, such as The Times – with a photo of a pigsty and the headline “The Economist apologizes for comparing Chinese to pigs “.
‘THEY DO NOT CARE’
The South China Morning Post also highlighted that European Union officials have not been getting a response from China to resume trade talks after a “disastrous” summit three months ago.
And for six months Beijing has not sent an ambassador to the EU, which has been understood as a message to the bloc that it will now prioritize talks by country.
“Basically, they don’t care,” says one European official.
