Recently, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife led several ministers and members of parliament to visit China. During a banquet, Brazil’s First Lady, Janja Lula da Silva, criticized TikTok in front of Xi Jinping, suggesting it may have harmful effects on women and children.
According to reports from Radio France Internationale and Brazil’s Folha de Sao Paulo, on May 14th, after the visit concluded, Lula, at a press conference, mentioned that he had asked Xi Jinping if he could send a trusted person to Brazil so they could discuss digital issues, especially concerning TikTok. Following this, Lula’s wife, Janja, requested to speak and explained the situation in Brazil, particularly concerning issues related to women and children.
Lula pointed out that Xi Jinping responded at the time, saying that Brazil has the right to regulate its own social media platforms. Lula emphasized that Brazil “cannot allow social media to continue with their absurdities while we lack the ability to regulate them.”
Folha de Sao Paulo cited two sources close to the Brazilian side and those familiar with the Chinese side, confirming that Janja’s remarks had displeased the Chinese delegation. In a statement following the incident, Lula mentioned that the apparent source of the displeasure seemed to be a Chinese minister.
The report mentioned that Lula denied any resulting awkwardness from the incident and stood by Janja, stating that she requested to speak because “she is not a second-class citizen, she understands digital networks better than I do.”
However, Lula was reportedly furious when the details of the conversation were leaked afterward, criticizing the accompanying Brazilian team for someone daring to share the highly private and confidential conversation that took place during the banquet.
It was noted that China has not issued any comments regarding the content of the aforementioned conversation to date.