On Thursday morning local time (October 30), US President Trump (Trump) held a meeting with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping at the K-16 Air Base in Busan, South Korea. The party’s official media People’s Daily was caught by netizens for mistakenly writing Xi Jinping as Xi Jinhū, sparking discussions online.
A screenshot circulating online shows that on October 30 at 10:30 a.m., People’s Daily reported that President Xi Jinhū (Jinping) met with US President Trump in Busan. The report was attributed to Ma Yuhang.
After the mistake in the report was spotted, it caused a stir among netizens.
Netizens exclaimed, “Ready to roll up the bedding and leave,” “Lost the iron rice bowl,” “A single misstep leads to eternal regret, looking back now is like being in prison,” “Be careful next life,” “Editor, RIP,” “Let us mourn for Comrade Ma Yuhang,” “Authors and editors will have a hard time,” “The editor’s reputation is ruined for a lifetime,” “This editor should run away quickly because in their eyes, this is an absolutely serious mistake that cannot be made at all.”
Veteran mainland media personality Gao Yu posted on the social platform X, saying, “The typesetters, reporters, responsible editors, editorial offices, and new media centers all have to bear responsibility.”
Official media making mistakes in Xi Jinping’s name is not unprecedented.
For example, in 2013, the front-page headline of Xiamen, Fujian’s Haixi Morning Post mistakenly spelled Xi Jinping as “Xi Jinping” and printed it in the newspaper. Reportedly, two editors were “suspended” as a result.
In 2011, the front page of Nanning Evening News in Guangxi mistakenly wrote Xi Jinping as “Xi Jinping,” prompting the urgent recall of 130,000 copies of the newspaper; in 2010, the online television station under CCTV incorrectly wrote the name of Xi Jinping, who was then the Vice President of the CCP, as “Diao Jinping.”