The Chinese Ministry of Defense recently opened an official account on the social platform X, posting its first message in English, claiming to share “stories” of the Chinese military. However, the move was met with criticism telling them to “go back to Weibo.” This news has sparked discussions on the mainland’s Douyin platform, with netizens questioning what X is and why they can’t find it.
On December 8th, the Chinese Ministry of Defense launched an official account on the social media platform X targeting overseas audiences. The post in English read, “Witness history, we are here,” accompanied by videos related to the Chinese military.
One comment below the post received over 1600 likes, saying, “Get out of our X and go back to your Weibo. You don’t allow Chinese citizens to use this platform, so to hell with you and your propaganda.”
There were many other comments written in simplified Chinese characters such as “Can the official account go back behind the Great Firewall? There’s no delete comment button here. Taiwan independence, Japan, fighting!” and “The Communist Party will step down.” Some questioned why the military can bypass internet restrictions, with comments like “Why can you climb over the wall?” and “When will the people be able to see your posts?” and “The Chinese military also climbs over the wall! The Rocket Force seems diligent in cleaning up!”
One netizen asked about the Yu Menglun case, “When will the investigation into the Yu Menglun case start? Why do I keep getting silenced behind the Great Firewall?” Another asked, “How many citizens and students did the PLA kill on 8964?”
Some remarked, “You (the CCP) must be very disappointed, right? Why can’t comments be deleted here and you can’t find out where the commenters are from?” and “I guessed there would be traitors in the comment section, but I didn’t expect this many…”
The news of the Chinese Ministry of Defense opening an official account on X quickly spread to Chinese Douyin platform, causing a stir in the comment section. Many netizens commented, “What is X? I also want to support the official account. Can the official account teach me how to download?” and “How does the official account climb over the wall? Is it stable? I want a recommendation.” and “What kind of app is X? Why can’t I find it in the app store and Baidu? Where is it posted? I want to go lend a hand.”
Chinese state media such as the Beijing Daily and the Global Times also reported on the Ministry of Defense opening an account on X via their own X accounts.
Prior to this, on October 21st, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese government opened a “Spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council” account on Facebook. Taiwanese netizens flooded the comments section, asking questions about Yu Menglun’s death and whether there was an investigation, while also questioning why the CCP officials can climb over the wall while prohibiting the public from doing so.
It is known that the Chinese Navy opened the @China_Navy account on X and YouTube in April this year. The Chinese military had already opened @ChinaMilBugle on X in September last year, followed by official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, among other platforms.
In reality, while Chinese citizens are restricted from accessing foreign websites, Chinese diplomats and propagandists have been known to circumvent these restrictions by climbing over the Great Firewall or directly connecting to foreign websites to use overseas social media platforms. The increasing trend of Chinese official institutions directly registering accounts on overseas social media platforms is seen as part of China’s efforts to increase cross-border infiltration and expand its external propaganda, drawing attention from the international community.