Chinese economists censored, removed from social media after critical takes on zero-Covid policy
- Online influencers with massive followings run afoul of Beijing’s censors, and some suspect they are being ‘cancelled’ for questioning nation’s approach to the coronavirus
- Investors on Weibo express confusion over the censorship, worried that it will become increasingly difficult to find credible investment suggestions
More outspoken economists and prominent investors are being silenced on social media in China as Beijing tightens its grip on online speech amid mounting economic pressure and growing controversies surrounding its zero-Covid policy.
The public accounts of Hong Hao, who was head of research at Bank of Communications (Bocom) International Holdings – a subsidiary of the state-owned bank – were removed from both WeChat and the Twitter-like Weibo service on Saturday.
Hong had more than 3 million followers on Weibo. It was unclear which red line the economist had crossed.
Beyond the reach of China’s “Great Firewall”, Hong had made several posts on his Twitter account about the economic fallout resulting from Shanghai’s lockdown, including one on March 31 saying “Shanghai: zero movement, zero GDP”.