announcement
『spit 3, many protest messages in Chinese have been witnessed. It seems that this protest message has been confirmed in various places, such as the Japan region and the North America region. What the hell is this message? I will reveal the background.
The “white paper revolution”, which aims to oppose China’s “zero corona policy”, is happening not only in China but all over the world (Nihon Keizai Shimbun). The protests began in memory of the victims of the fire that broke out in Urumqi, in China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, on November 24. The arguments of the members who participated in the protest evolved from “withdrawing the zero-corona policy” to calls for “democracy and freedom of speech”, “resignation of the Communist Party” and “resignation of Xi Jinping”. And such protests against the Chinese government are currently taking place in various popular games, including “Splatoon 3”.
Examples of messages using game features are “Give me rice instead of PCR tests”, “I oppose Xi Jinping”, “I withdraw from the Communist Party”, “I may be the next person to die”, “I would rather die if not I have freedom”. Content like. In “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II”, some players have been confirmed active with the ID name “Stop PCR test, give me freedom”. Also, some users attach an ID called “Genocide”. By genocide he probably refers to the CCP’s imprisonment in camps, torture and massacre of Uyghurs.NHK). By conveying such a message in a popular game, it seems that it hopes to capture more people’s attention.
【UPDATE 5/12/2022 20:55】
Added and added prohibited elements in publishing illustrations in “Splatoon 3”
In this way, this protest movement has spread to popular games. Even the Chinese people could not have imagined that many people would take to the streets to protest even in China, which is so vast and under the Communist Party’s tight control. In fact, demonstrations and rallies were held not only in major cities in mainland China, but also in many university campuses and in many large cities abroad. Such an “all-out” protest movement is probably the first since the Tiananmen Square demonstration 33 years ago. Until two weeks ago I could not have imagined seeing such rebellious Chinese. Protesting inside China is extremely dangerous. Even the smallest of things can lead to arrest and abuse by the police. Most Chinese people are very patriotic. Therefore, many people have followed the Chinese government’s policy, but now the tide is changing.
A sense of danger that “I might be next to die”
So how did this carte blanche revolution turn into such a large-scale protest? We explain by checking the published content in the game.
As explained at the beginning of this article, the trigger for the recent global protests against the CCP was the fire that broke out in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. There is a strong opinion that the human damage caused by this fire is not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster. Citizens say the zero-corona policy has blocked entrances and exits, even though there was plenty of time to escape when the fire broke out. Also, although the fire engine rushed, the entrance was blocked due to the zero corona policy and it was not possible to enter the housing complex. Chinese authorities have announced that 10 people died in this crash, but some people say there were actually more fatalities, citing information obtained from local officials. (Sankei news）。
In China, if a person tests positive, the area is locked down. If you’re stuck, you can’t even step out of the house and you can’t even buy anything. Of course, even if you have a disease other than corona, they won’t let you go to the hospital (BBC）。
In China, there have been multiple reports of tragedies caused by the zero-corona policy. In January of this year, it was reported that a pregnant woman had a stillbirth because she could not receive treatment in hospital because she did not have negative corona test (NHJ). In September this year, when a large bus overturned and killed 27 people, suspicions arose that the bus may have been used to transport people who tested positive for the new coronavirus to isolation facilities.Sankei news). There are countless similar incidents. That’s why many protesters used the slogan “I could be next.” The zero-corona policy has been widely and relentlessly pursued throughout China. Wouldn’t it be strange if the next tragedy happened somewhere.
China will delete everything you write
Whenever there is an accident due to China’s zero corona policy, it becomes a hot topic on the Internet. At that time, many Chinese citizens tried to mourn the dead, but all posts were deleted. There are often cases where accounts that post tributes get banned.
China has a long history of strict censorship. Censorship targets not only criticism directed at the government, but also any content inconvenient to the government or simply topical content. This trend has become more pronounced since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. In addition, in China, all SNS accounts have a real name system, so the Chinese public security bureau can easily check who posted where, and those who speak are subject to “processing” as they are. In China it is no longer allowed to speak only in agreement.
A recent fire in Urumqi has sparked outrage among the Chinese. However, memorials and criticisms of the government posted on Weibo and elsewhere have been deleted one after another. Chinese netizens, who were smiling ironically, saying, “Guys, you’ve been working overtime again,” could not help but smile this time.
China was only arrested by holding up a blank sheet with nothing written on it
The first person to initiate the protest with a blank sheet of paper was Lee Kangmeng, a college student at the Nanjing Institute of Media and Communications. At first, she just stood there holding a blank sheet of paper, but even though the blank sheet was confiscated in the middle, she still stood there as if she was holding a blank sheet of paper in her hand. Gradually, other college students who had been spectators joined and it developed into a large protest on the college campus.reddit threadFrom there, you can see how other students have gradually joined since she was alone.
Subsequently, not only in Nanjing, but also in Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Sichuan, Yunnan and other parts of China, protests spread like wildfire (NHK）。
Of course, China has a history of demonstrations, but for many Chinese, this demonstration was probably the first protest of their life. But the fact that many citizens took to the streets to protest meant that many Chinese citizens were arrested. According to the testimony of a university student who has already been arrested and paroled, after being arrested, he was beaten by the police, his whole body was examined, and biometric information such as fingerprints, iris and voice were recorded.
Where is the “white paper revolution”
While many protesters are chanting slogans like “quit the Communist Party,” they probably don’t believe that the mass demonstrations will actually lead to a revolution in China. However, there are still many who believe the protests must continue. Most people would probably think, “Even if it doesn’t lead to good results, it’s important to plant a small seed in people’s hearts.”
As a result, the protests appear to have taken effect. This is because, under the influence of the demonstrations developing both at home and abroad, President Xi Jinping has finally started calling for the easing of the zero-corona policy (Nihon Keizai Shimbun）。
Until now, as a “zero corona policy”, all citizens in various places are forced to undergo PCR tests on a regular basis. Until now, people could only use subways, commercial facilities and offices if they had a negative certificate issued within 24 hours (or 48 hours). In response to the recent deregulation announcement, PCR test points have been removed from some cities in China. Xi Jinping simply expressed his intention to relax and the zero-crown policy, which had been strict until now, was easily withdrawn, even if only partially. Protests may have won this change, although a negative test is still needed for office use, forcing many citizens to travel to remote testing locations.
On the other hand, many citizens have been arrested for participating in this demonstration. If you look at the protests in “Splatoon 3” in this context, you can understand the weight of the meaning.
