Hu Xijin, one of the most inflammatory and well-known pro-Chinese nationalist voices on the international stage, announced on Thursday (16) his retirement from the post of editor-in-chief of the state-run Global Times newspaper.
With millions of followers on Weibo (Chinese social network) and 460,000 followers on Twitter, the network blocked in China, Hu, 61, is not an official spokesman for the regime, but defends the party line on matters ranging from the management of the Covid-19 to disputes with Australia and the United States.
Since he took over the reins of the Global Times in 2005, the tabloid has reached 67 million followers on Facebook and Twitter, allowing Chinese advertising to reach a global audience.
Hu announced his resignation in a Weibo post, but said he would continue to cooperate as a “special commentator” for the tabloid, which is published by People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party.
“From now on, as a Special Commentator for the Global Times, I will continue to contribute my efforts to the development of the Global Times and will continue to do my best for Party news and public opinion,” he posted.
Describing himself as a former pro-democracy protester who became an “honest” newspaper editor, Hu has seen a new era of assertive and avowed nationalism under the leadership of Xi Jinping.
He was recently responsible for tweeting a video of tennis player Peng Shuai, who had disappeared from the spotlight after accusing a communist leader of sexual abuse, to try to reassure the international community about her well-being.
His comments on Twitter and in the column he maintains in the newspaper, Hu Says, are frequently cited by foreign media. Many of them are strident and controversial: last year, Hu likened Australia to “Chinese gum stuck to the sole of a shoe” after Canberra asked that Covid-19’s origins be investigated. He also called Britain a “whore asking for a beating” after British warships sailed through disputed waters.
Hu was a former People’s Daily reporter covering the Bosnian war in the 1990s, says the Global Times on its website.
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