A Chinese opera star’s ode to Russia – from a Ukrainian bomb site

Certainly, there are many Chinese who support Russia. News of the latest expression of China-Russia friendship – a meeting in Vladivostok between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and a Chinese deputy prime minister, Zhang Guoqing – was greeted with typical applause on China’s heavily censored social media. Mr Putin told his guest that relations between the two countries had reached a level “unprecedented” in history. Mr. Zhang said political cooperation was “deepening.”

But supporters of Ukraine are still finding their voice. At least briefly, before censors began cutting references to her singing, Ms. Wang’s performance in Russian-controlled Mariupol gave them an opportunity to speak out. On Weibo, a Twitter-like service, some users were quick to attack her choice of location for singing such a song. ‘Katyusha’, as it is known, was used to inspire Soviet troops who would go to war with the Germans during World War II. It conveys a woman’s love for her boyfriend at the front. Russia portrays its invasion of Ukraine as yet another anti-Nazi Chinese state media endorses this line.

Some of Ms. Wang’s critics have large followings and therefore have much to lose if their accounts were closed — a common form of punishment by the censors. One is a retired professor living in Xinjiang, a far western region. He told his 137,000 followers that Ms Wang would be “nailed to the pillar of shame in history”. Another Weibo user, with nearly 1 million followers, accused her of “just being crazy.” Similar attacks were leveled against Ms. Wang after she and her husband, Zhou Xiaoping, defended her visit to Mariupol at a news conference in Moscow. Mr. Zhou is an adviser to the Chinese parliament and a prominent nationalist blogger. He was praised by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2014 for spreading “positive energy”.

Out of tune

Ukraine has also reacted angrily. On Facebook, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson called Ms. Wang’s singing in the theater “an example of complete moral degradation.” He said her visit to Mariupol, along with others from China, was “illegal” and that all members of the group would be banned. not to enter Ukraine. He also said he expected an explanation from China about the group’s trip. In contrast, Denis Pushilin, the Russian-backed leader of Donetsk, the province to which Mariupol belongs, met the visitors and described Ms. Wang’s singing in the theater as “moving.” Russia has implausibly accused Ukrainian extremists of blowing up the building, where hundreds were seeking shelter.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains silent about the incident. For all its coziness with Putin, China calls itself a neutral observer of the war and wants to earn credit for helping to end hostilities (although its peace proposal does not require Russia’s withdrawal from Ukraine). China is even talking to the Vatican, with which it has no diplomatic relations, about ways to resolve the conflict. The Pope has sent a senior envoy to Beijing on a rare official visit to discuss the subject.

In a post on Weibo, Hu Xijin, a well-known pro-government commentator, reflected what Chinese officials are likely thinking. He told his nearly 25 million followers that Ms. Wang’s behavior risked creating a “sense of involvement” in the conflict among the Chinese people, which is “not in line with reality and not what China need”. The war in Ukraine is “not China’s war,” said Mr. Hu, a former editor-in-chief of Global Times, a nationalist tabloid in Beijing. For good measure, the censors also removed Mr. Hu’s post. It is clear that they want to close down the debate altogether.

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© 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under license. Original content can be found at www.economist.com

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Updated: Nov 15, 2023 5:52 PM IST