On the internet, government bureaus peppered social media with their favourite phrases from Xi’s speech, while photos circulated of children watching Wednesday’s congress in classrooms. “My god, 3.5 hours - what hard work,” said a commenter on the Weibo microblogging platform, one of millions of citizens who were following the proceedings on social media. During Xi’s speech, social media was flooded with images of watch parties across the country, with Communist party committees in areas as far-flung as northeastern Jilin and southern Yunnan provinces. Images also circulated of young children sitting obediently in their classroom in a semi-circle around a television playing Xi’s speech. It is unclear whether less fawning social media comments were posted but deleted by censors in a country with one of the world’s most restrictive internet censorship regimes.

Source: New Strait Times October 18, 2017 10:07 UTC