South China Morning Post
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One Weibo post, in this screenshot, shows Chinese leader Xi Jinping dozing on a bus. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Opinion
Amy Li
Amy Li

Who's the Xi Jinping insider posting his activities on Weibo?

Amy Li
Why you can trust SCMP
A "mysterious" weibo account devoted to publishing the daily activities of Chinese president-in-waiting Xi Jinping  intrigued Chinese media and netizens with its exclusive photos and insider knowledge of the country's most powerful man.
The account on China’s popular Twitter-like service Sina Weibo, named “Hao Hao Xue Xi” (meaning “study Xi thoroughly” in Chinese), has published 343 posts and drawn more than 136,000 followers as of Tuesday morning.

Written in a conversational style and studded with phrases in the Shaanxi dialect, the posts seem to give live updates of much of Xi’s daily work and official trips.

Many photos have been posted alongside the text. Judging from the images, they seemed to have been taken with a mobile device at a short distance from Xi.

On Sunday, a photo, possibly taken from the inside of a plane, showed an airport runway. The post read: “Xi’s plane has just landed in Lanzhou.”

Then it said: “Xi isn’t on the plane. He wanted to get a true picture [of Gansu], so he didn’t stick to the planned itinerary.”

On Monday, a photo was posted of a tired-looking Xi yawning inside a bus:

“He’s tired after days of running around. He was out all day yesterday and travelled from villages to the city last night. We young people don’t feel good after travelling for an entire day, let alone a 60-year-old.“

At 9.46am on Tuesday, a post said: "Xi’s motorcade has taken off, the destination unclear.”
At 11.05am: “Xi has returned to the hotel.” 

Judging by the first-hand images and accounts, many guessed the poster must be someone close to Xi, possibly a member of his team.

"This must be one of Xi's guards," said a netizen on Weibo.

"Stop confusing us," said another. "When will this system be changed? It will be the only cure for China." 

The person, or persons, behind the account has said nothing on Weibo about his/her identity amid increasing attention and speculation. A self-introduction on the page reads: "This is the community for Xi's supporters and fans. We never stop caring for Xi. You are welcome to join us."

An interview request sent to the account by SCMP.com went unanswered on Tuesday.

 

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