A Chinese vlogger who shared videos of the war in Ukraine from the country is being labeled as national traitor as he opposes the Russian invasion of Kyiv, which is not the official position of Beijing.
Wang Jixian, 36, resident of Ukranian city Odesa, which has been a key target of Russian troops in this war. The vlogger came to the city nearly four years back for work.
Wang has been posting videos of his neighboring places on various social media platforms including Douyin, which is a Chinese version of TikTok. But after the invasion began, his videos started receiving more views.
Ukrainian Guards Are Not Nazis
When the war started, he shared visuals of his nearby places showing that life is normal there and the situation is not very tense. But as attacks intensified he started showing the truth and claiming that Ukrainians are helping people and they are not similar to Nazis, propaganda run by state-funded Russian media amid the war.
He could have left Ukraine, but instead this Chinese vlogger stays in Odessa, his dispatches a daily rebuke to Beijing's position on the war and how Chinese people are supposed understand it.-https://t.co/GFonc972Xx
— ChinaFile (@ChinaFile) March 12, 2022
In one of the videos, which was widely circulated on social media, Wang held up his Chinese passport saying, "These Ukrainian guards are not Nazis, they are IT programmers, common people, barbers -- these are the people."
But in an attempt to show the reality, he entered into a controversy as Chinese people started terming him a traitor because he was opposing the communist regime's official position in the Ukraine war.
After being challenged about whether he'd return to the PRC given his pro-Ukraine vlogs, Wang Jixian launches into a powerful, veiled criticism of the regime.
— Times's liberation is bound up with yours (@timeswang) March 15, 2022
"China is my home, why shouldn't I return? It's those bandits who beat & oppress ordinary people who should get out."
Wang's Position is Opposite to China
A popular comment on his video read, "You don't need this Chinese passport anymore, you have already forgotten which country you are from. The official position of the country should be the position of all Chinese people."
As his videos are getting more popular, Chinese regulators have censored his videos while his videos are stayed up on YouTube.
Wang's merely 20% videos are left on Douyin and he is not aware that what rules he has broken.
Did Wang Betray China?
In his conversation with CNN, Wang said, "I don't understand how I 'betrayed' the country." Due to limited access to news broadcasts and widespread online misinformation, Wang is unable to understand the official position of the communist regime.
"Wang Jixian, one of the most popular of these video chroniclers, posts regular dispatches from his apartment or the streets in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa, where he lives.
— William Yang (@WilliamYang120) March 19, 2022
He said that whatever he knew was all that everyday city is under fire and devastation.
A staff member of the Chinese embassy also cut off his ties from Wang as bloggers' views were opposing Beijing.
The staffer had asked Wang, "Who sent you such videos" and was insinuating that blogger was being paid to post these videos. But Wang told him that he was not doing it for money.
Later, the staffer told him that his current behavior is not in line with national interests. "I want to cut off relations with you, let's block each other."
Wang's social media accounts were banned after he spoke with CNN and it has left him with no option to contact his family back at home.
