China’s social media under fire over xenophobic content after stabbing incidents

Taichung [Taiwan], January 24 (ANI): Chinese social media platforms are facing increasing scrutiny over the proliferation of hate speech following a series of violent attacks on foreign nationals in China, Al Jazeera reported.
Xenophobic and nationalistic comments have flourished on these platforms, even after several Chinese tech giants pledged to address hate speech in response to a spate of stabbings involving Japanese and American citizens.
In the summer of 2024, there were at least four separate stabbings of foreign nationals in China, including a high-profile incident in Shenzhen where a 10-year-old Japanese boy was killed in September. This attack, occurring on the anniversary of a controversial historical event, prompted Japan to demand explanations from China regarding its safety measures for foreign nationals. In response to the tragedy, Japanese businesses offered to repatriate their staff and families.
Prior to this, in April, a knife attack in Jilin injured four American college instructors, further straining relations between the United States and China. However, Chinese authorities maintained that the incidents were isolated and insisted that similar attacks could happen in any country, as stated by Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who said, "Similar cases could happen in any country."
Despite these assertions, Chinese social media platforms like Weibo have come under increasing criticism for their handling of hate speech. On the platform, posts filled with xenophobic rhetoric targeting Americans, Japanese, and other foreign nationals have been widespread. One user even expressed a desire for the deaths of Japanese people, repeating the sentiment multiple times.
Although Chinese authorities have stated that Chinese law prohibits the spreading of extremism, violence, and discrimination online, the growing prevalence of such comments has raised serious concerns. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, reaffirmed the government's position against discrimination and hate speech, saying, "The Chinese government has always opposed any form of discrimination and hate speech, and calls on all sectors of society to jointly maintain the order and security of cyberspace."
The government's challenge is compounded by the fact that tech companies, which operate with a profit-driven incentive, have not fully committed to regulating this content. According to Andrew Devine, a PhD student specialising in authoritarian politics, Chinese social media platforms are less motivated to control hate speech due to the political and financial incentives involved, reported Al Jazeera.
The algorithms used by Chinese platforms, which are optimised to maximise user engagement, contribute to the spread of controversial content, including hyper-nationalistic posts. Elena Yi-Ching Ho, an independent analyst, explained that social media platforms are primarily interested in keeping users engaged, saying, "They want to maximise engagement between users on their platforms, and they want users to stay on their platform for as long as possible."
The underlying problem of rising hate speech on Chinese social media is partially rooted in the growing antagonism between China and certain foreign nations. Relations between China and Japan have deteriorated due to historical and territorial disputes, while tensions with the United States have escalated over trade, the origins of COVID-19, and Taiwan. However, the phenomenon of hate speech predates these tensions.
Some Chinese citizens and social media users trace this hostility to "hate education" about Japan, referring to historical grievances stemming from Japan's imperial-era actions, including the invasion of China during World War II. Wang Zichen, a former Chinese state media journalist, noted that for many in China, the memory of millions of Chinese deaths during the war remains vivid, and some continue to view Japan's failure to atone for these actions as a source of ongoing resentment, explaining, "Japan launched invasions in the Second World War where as many as tens of millions of Chinese people died, and that remains on a lot of Chinese people's minds today."
Despite this, some individuals in China argue that contemporary hate speech against Japanese people and other foreign nationals should not be justified by historical events. Tina Wu, a 29-year-old social media manager in Shanghai, emphasised the need to reassess how China deals with its past, noting that this is crucial for reducing hate speech and fostering better relations with other nations. Wu said, "I think we need to change the way we are dealing with our past if we want to see less hate speech."
While hate speech is not unique to Chinese social media, the government's tight control over the internet presents a different dynamic from platforms in other countries. Chinese tech companies operate in an environment of strict censorship, with the government routinely monitoring and removing content deemed politically sensitive.
A 2020 report from the non-profit Freedom House ranked China as having the least free internet environment in the world, alongside Myanmar. In fact, over 35,000 words related to Chinese President Xi Jinping alone were subjected to censorship in 2020, according to China Digital Times. As Devine observed, content that aligns with the Chinese government's narrative is less likely to be flagged or removed, creating a double standard in which government-approved nationalism is allowed to thrive, while more controversial, critical commentary is suppressed, Al Jazeera reported.
The challenge of policing hate speech on social media platforms is particularly difficult for companies with billions of active users. With such large-scale platforms, moderation capacity is limited, and removing every instance of hate speech is virtually impossible.
Wang acknowledged these limitations, stating, "There's so much information and more is constantly being added that there's simply no way to eradicate or eliminate all of it." However, he remained optimistic that China's growing global influence could help reduce anti-foreign sentiment.
He believed that the country's confidence in its own strength could lead to a re-evaluation of its historical grievances and a more positive outlook on its interactions with other nations.
Some individuals, like Tina Wu, hope that the dominant narratives surrounding foreign aggression in China could be reassessed to reduce the chances of further attacks on foreigners.
Wu argued that the portrayal of China as a victim of foreign hostility is deeply embedded in the country's national identity and needs to be re-evaluated to foster a more open and welcoming atmosphere for foreigners in the future. (ANI)