Chinese commentator remains silent on social media after controversial post

TAIPEI, TAIWAN –

Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of China’s state-run tabloid The Global Timeshas been silent on social media for a week after his analysis of China’s economic policies sparked a backlash from Chinese state media and other prominent commentators.

Hu, a prominent nationalist commentator known for his outspoken style on social media, has not shared anything on any of his social media accounts, including microblogging site Weibo, Chinese messaging app WeChat and X, formerly known as Twitter, since July 27.

His silence follows his July 22 WeChat opinion piece pointing out that the Communist Party had omitted a key phrase, “the public sector is the pillar of China’s economy,” from the resolution on reforming China’s economy adopted by China’s top leaders at the Third Plenum, a closed-door conclave that set out major economic policies for the next five years.

He said the move, which departs from the Communist Party’s usual practice of reiterating the slogan in official documents, shows that China hopes to “achieve true equality between the private and public economy.”

Hu’s comments in the article, which has since been removed from WeChat, sparked widespread criticism on Chinese social media, with some conservative commentators accusing him of misinterpreting the resolution, which promised to “consolidate and develop the state-owned economy.”

In addition to online criticism, the Chinese government People’s Daily On July 30, the Chinese government also published an opinion piece reiterating that China’s fundamental position on the public and private sectors has not changed and will not change in the future.

The party “will be able to inject vigorous impetus into promoting modernization with Chinese characteristics by adhering to and improving the basic socialist economic system, promoting stronger and better state-owned capital and enterprises, and creating a favorable environment and providing more opportunities for the development of the non-state sector of the economy,” the article said.

Bloomberg News reported that Hu Jintao had been banned from posting on social media, citing an unnamed source, but in a brief response to Hong Kong’s statement. Chant Tao everydayHu declined to elaborate on his unusual silence.

“I personally don’t want to say anything. I just read what’s on the Internet. Please understand me,” he said. Chant Tao everyday.

Some analysts believe the incident reflects the Chinese government’s attempt to tighten its control over discussions and narratives about China’s economy, which remains sluggish despite the government’s plans to implement reforms after the plenum.

“As the Chinese economy becomes more precarious, Chinese leaders are increasingly recognizing that it is a source of instability, and are therefore stepping up their efforts to control economic and business information,” Dexter Roberts, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, told VOA by telephone.

Other experts say Hu’s silence, a departure from his usual outspoken style on social media, also shows he has crossed the line by publicly contradicting party policy.

“His comments crossed the red line set by the Communist Party, and the severity of the punishment, which consists of an outright ban on posting on social media, sends a warning to the rest of China that the authorities have zero tolerance for views that deviate from the official line,” said Hung Chin-fu, a Chinese politics expert at National Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan.

He said that even though the resolution mentions the goal of expanding China’s private sector, the development of the private sector must still be guided by the party, which means that the state sector will still play a dominant role in this process.

“Chinese senior leaders will allow some discussions about developing their private sector, but they don’t want those voices to overshadow the official narrative,” Hung told VOA by telephone.

Some analysts believe Hu Jintao’s silence on social media may be in line with China’s laws. “The new disciplinary regulations of the Chinese Communist Party explicitly prohibit people like Hu Jintao from rushing out as he did,” Wen-ti Sung, a political scientist at the Australian National University, said in a written response to VOA.

While Hu Jintao is unlikely to face a complete social media ban, Roberts said, he may become more cautious when commenting on topics related to Chinese government policies or sensitive domestic issues in the future.

“There is less and less tolerance for outspoken people like Hu in China these days, so I don’t think something like this could happen to him without there being long-term repercussions,” he told VOA.

Sung said Hu’s case also shows the growing risks Chinese people, including those working for the Communist Party, face when commenting on sensitive issues.

“The Hu episode probably shows how difficult it is to know where the red line is for anyone engaging in public political discourse in China today – even for a true insider like Hu, who has worked in the party’s propaganda system for 28 years,” he said.