‘Harmful to politics’: Chinese actor Zhao Lixin kicked off Weibo as censors turn the screw on social media
- Screen and stage star silenced after Japanese imperialism controversy
- Social media company reminds users to follow regulations on content
One of China’s best-known social media accounts is among dozens that have been shut or muzzled as censors cracked down on remarks they said are “harmful to politics”.
Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, announced on Monday that 29 accounts, including one belonging to actor Zhao Lixin, were purged, suspended or shut down.
The censorship campaign came a week after Weibo gagged more than 50 users, including Yu Jianrong, an outspoken liberal intellectual with more than seven million followers, for posting information authorities said was objectionable.
Zhao was the target of strong criticism this month when he asked why British and French forces had burned Beijing’s Old Summer Palace during the Second Opium War in 1860 and left the Forbidden City unscathed.
He poured oil on troubled water with a post that said: “Japan occupied Beijing for eight years. Why did they not loot the artefacts or burn down the Forbidden Palace? Does this fit the nature of aggressors?”
Chinese-born Swedish Zhao, 51, issued a public apology after state media joined in the criticism that his remarks had offended many people.