An upcoming “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) lecture organized by the US consulate in Guangzhou drew a backlash on Chinese social media on Thursday, with many Chinese netizens mocking the consulate for having “ulterior motives” of inciting a color revolution in Guangzhou, saying that the best place to hold such an event is the Oval Office.
The US Consulate General in Guangzhou posted an announcement of the lecture, titled “Black Lives Matter, Beyond the Hashtag,” on its Weibo account on Thursday, inviting people to attend the Saturday event.
“It’s been nearly impossible to avoid the phrase ‘Black Lives Matter’ in the news and social media over the past month, but there’s more to the movement than a hashtag. Come join speakers Jason Boyd and Alexis Partee as they dive into Black Lives Matter as a civil rights movement and an activist group,” the notice said.
The consulate’s BLM event goes against the stance of the current US administration.
Almost two months after the BLM protests swept the US, the Trump administration continues to reject the movement. US President Donald Trump even called New York City’s decision to paint “Black Lives Matter” on Fifth Avenue “a symbol of hate,” US media reported.
The post immediately drew the ire of Chinese netizens. Many slammed the US consulate general for attempting to incite unrest among Africans in Guangzhou, and asked it to hold such events in the US, and especially the Oval Office.
“What’s wrong with you? African Americans died in your country, but now you come to China to promote Black Lives Matter? Have you apologized for slaughtering the indigenous people of America?” one Weibo user said.
“You’d better mind your own business before trying to make trouble in other countries. Are you trying to incite Africans in Guangzhou for a color revolution? Or are you feeling unbalanced when African Americans in the US stage protests but live a good life in China?” another netizen said.
Guangzhou is believed to host the largest African population in China. A total of 86,475 foreigners are currently living in Guangzhou, of whom 13,652 are Africans.
In April, Western media outlets launched a smear campaign, hyping misunderstanding caused by China’s strict epidemic control policies, claiming “Africans are discriminated in Guangzhou.” US State Department even issued an alert in April advising African-Americans to avoid traveling to Guangzhou over concerns they could be targeted for quarantine by local officials.
The claim was absurd and nothing more than a malicious attempt to sow discord between China and African countries, analysts said. China has implemented comprehensive epidemic prevention and control measures, which are applied to all groups, races and nationalities.
In an email reply to the Global Times on Thursday, the US Embassy in Beijing said attending the event would provide “an accurate picture of the event, certainly more accurate than comments by netizens who have not attended.”
Lü Xiang, a research fellow on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday that as the atmosphere between China and the US has been deeply poisoned by a series of US actions, Chinese netizens now tend to expect the worst from what the US does.
In the latest and most extreme move, the Trump administration is reportedly considering banning members of the Communist Party of China and their families from traveling to the US.
Screenshot of the BLM event announcement released by the WeChat public account of the US Consulate in Guangzhou
