The Chinese press has spoken very little of Boutcha, in Ukraine. State media did not report the massacre except to quote the Kremlin saying it was staged. A distortion of reality exposed by Chinese speakers who, since the beginning of the conflict, have been working to translate pro-Russian comments and positions that have swept over social networks and Chinese media.
From our correspondent in Beijing,
Translate “ aloud “, what the Chinese read and hear” whisper beyond the language barrier.
The movement, grouped under the hashtag #TheGreatTranslationMovement (#大翻译运动), was born spontaneously with the first bombs that fell on Ukraine, remembers one of these war translators joined by RFI, and who prefers to keep the ‘anonymity.
We wanted to show the violence of xenophobic and extremist rhetoric that pervaded state-controlled networks and media, especially in the comments
These translations of Chinese nationalist remarks actually go back a few years. First via the Chonglang TV channel, on the American community site Reddit. Then the invasion of Ukraine happened.
Pro-Putin surge
” I started my first translation at the end of February, a few days after the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine. I saw an avalanche of fake news and official statements about the conflict being shared among Chinese migrants in Australia. I was shocked. I made screenshots, and I started to translate the contents of the exchanges “Explains Han Yang, contacted by RFI.
active in particular on Twitterthe latter recounts having had as a university friend one of the spokespersons of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who affirmed on Wednesday that the images of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian city of Boutcha were “ deeply disturbing but that no blame should be assigned to anyone until all the facts were known.
Han Yang says not to be part of the “great translation movement”, but approves ” the original intention which is to show what Chinese people think in a censored media and internet environment, knowing that these opinions also generally reflect those of officials “.
Because what surprises the most on Chinese social networks at the moment is the uniqueness of your tone. After two days of hesitation, the guardians of the great computer wall very quickly gave instructions to the media, asking them to resume the ” benevolent neutrality displayed by the Chinese authorities for Russia.
This has notably led to a wave of videos showing Vladimir Putin in his daily life, from breakfast with the family, to the summons of generals to brandish the threat of nuclear weapons. The “movement” also showed that Ukraine’s borders had recently disappeared on some maps of the conflict shown by Chinese television, probably before they reappeared when Moscow redrew the outlines.
Anti-Chinese sentiments
War in Ukraine, and war of words on the networks. Many of these Chinese keyboard patriots do not hide their admiration for the Russian president. The translation of their sometimes extremist remarks against Ukraine, which risked drawing a backlash, has since been blocked by Reddit due to a lack of confidentiality.
The movement then migrated to Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and Twitter. In just over a month of war, the TGTM_Official Twitter account exceeded 100,000 subscribers on April 5th. Enough to alert the authorities who have strongly criticized this army of shadow translators.
It was the official media that sounded the charge. People’s Daily sees in the “great translation” a ” unscrupulous movement (…) selectively using extreme content that is not unique to China, to tarnish the image of the country and the Chinese people “.
Diaspora Chinese also pointed out that these translations risked fuel anti-Chinese sentiment abroad “. “ There is a group of people who have very scary thoughts about China (…) They search for so-called “pro-Russian” statements in various WeChat groups, translate them and send them to the Internet “says the GlobalTimes.
” The rhetoric of a very small minority on Chinese websites has quickly spread overseas and generated anti-China sentiment on the ground “, continues the filial tabloid of the People’s Daily.
“Ukrainian Little Sisters”
The “great translation movement” has made a name for itself in particular by translating the sexist remarks and jokes of Chinese Internet users who have proposed ” to welcome the little Ukrainian refugee sisters » at the beginning of the war, when others were welcoming, with very emphatic winks, « to beautiful Ukrainian women “.
These inappropriate comments are not specific to China, where they have also led to the closure of the social accounts of their authors, underline the authorities. Censorship silenced sexist attacks and the Chinese embassy in kyiv quickly called on Internet users to calm their attacks against Ukraine, so as not to risk endangering its nationals, then stranded in Eastern Europe.
By digging into the most extreme rhetoric, the movement would distort the reality of a diverse and silent Chinese opinion, some editorials claimed. In the censorship-controlled opinion pages like the rest of the publications, some columnists accused the “great translators” of wanting to organize “a color revolution” in China.
In addition to the magnifying glass effect on a very active hateful minority on the Internet, which especially bothers the Chinese authorities, it is the mirror effect of this great translation which exposes in broad daylight the propaganda campaign targeting the West and in particular the United States or NATO, accused of being responsible for the war.
The risk is that the image of China will be degraded in the eyes of European opinion, while Europe remains the biggest outlet for “Made in China” today. Same thing for Japan, when the “movement” translates the sometimes aggressive comments of Chinese Internet users about the recent earthquake that shook Tokyo; or South Korea, when these same nationalists claim elements of Korean cultural heritage as Chinese.
“Patriot Zombies”
While the Chinese government was still hesitating about the elements of language to use at the start of the conflict, the “great translators” showed that the flow of Russian propaganda on Chinese networks was picked up by the media and in comments on the networks. ” The Great Translation Movement is not thwarting the Chinese people, but the propaganda and censorship machine that is producing large numbers of “patriotic zombies” “says Chang Ping, Quoted by Global Voices.
” How to counter zombies?pretends to wonder this veteran journalist in exile. The best way is to light them up. Zombies are afraid of the Sun, which is why China imposes strict internet censorship. »*
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Revealing the negative of a speech, as was done in the past with film photos, is also for these “great translators” to expose the existence of a very active group of young Chinese nationalists nicknamed “Little Pink”.
Unlike those who used to be called “Wu Mao” (literally “five cents” paid based on the number of pro-government comments), these “little roses” don’t need to be paid to overflow with patriotic enthusiasm. Most of them are uncensored.
” We have a connection with what some in the West call “Antifa”, explains an anonymous member of the movement. It’s reverse nationalism in a way. The goal is to break propaganda and dispel illusions. »
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Behind the smokescreen of smooth Chinese opinion, opposed to Westerners and claiming to understand the “reasons” for the Russian “special military operation”, what does the rest of Chinese society think of the war in Ukraine? The “great translation movement” denies wanting to expose a defiant extremist minority vis-à-vis foreign countries, and also ensures that it translates the words of Chinese criticizing the invasion of a sovereign country by Vladimir Putin’s troops. . The problem, they sayis that these messages disappear from the networks almost as soon as they appear.