The reports said they were punished for alleged online “personal attacks” against Chinese health experts and “inciting conflict” over the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. The popular Sina Weibo social media platform said it had addressed 12,854 violations including attacks on experts, scholars and medical workers and issued temporary or permanent bans on 1,120 accounts, said the AP report. The move came days after Beijing’s security chiefs warned of zero tolerance against activities that “use the pandemic … to disrupt social order”, noted the scmp.com report. Nevertheless, the Chinese government maintains that the situation is under control, and rejects accusations of a lack of preparation for reopening. All were funded by the state-run National Social Science Fund of China, the report noted.

Source: Washington Post January 08, 2023 23:06 UTC