Home » [404 Archives]Issue 17: Henan floods: Shut up those who should not shut up-China Digital Times

[404 Archives]Issue 17: Henan floods: Shut up those who should not shut up-China Digital Times

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Editor’s noteThe CDT404 archive has been officially launched and can be listened to on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or general-purpose podcast clients. The following is the transcript of “Issue 17: Henan Floods: Shut Up Those Who Should Not Shut Up”.

Please click on the original text or here to listen to the audio program “404 Archives”.

Welcome to the CDT404 archives. Here, we cross the Chinese digital wall together.

Today we continue to discuss the Henan floods. In this program, we will present the experiences of the families of the victims, the commemorations and resistance of Zhengzhou citizens, relevant media reports, censorship and online discussions. We will also pay attention to the disaster situation in other areas of Henan, such as Xinxiang, Weihui, and Wangzongdian Village.

Since the afternoon of July 20, Henan Province has experienced heavy rainfall that is rare in history. In the face of six consecutive red warnings of heavy rain, Zhengzhou Metro did not make any emergency response. At that time, a train of Metro Line 5 that was still in operation got stuck between Bintansi Station and Shakou Road Station. A large amount of water poured into the carriages. Hundreds of passengers were trapped for three to five hours, resulting in at least 12 people. Killed.

Passenger Sha Tao also lost contact on this subway. According to the information released by Sha Tao’s wife’s Weibo “Pretend to be a trumpet discovered by the U.S.”, after Sha Tao lost contact, his wife contacted the Zhengzhou subway operator while calling the police, but no one gave her anything. reply. Zou Deqiang was also missing on this subway. According to his colleague afterwards, there was no platform beside the tunnel where they evacuated, and people could only move by climbing on cables. On the way, Zou Deqiang was swept away by the rapids.

Knowing that passengers were washed away and their families kept in touch with the subway, Zhengzhou Metro could not wait to release news that all passengers in distress were rescued, did not report the presence of missing persons, and stopped search and rescue. Thanks to the continuous efforts of the families of Sha Tao and Zou Deqiang, and the spread of the Weibo of Sha Tao’s wife’s missing persons announcement, Zhengzhou Metro only started to ask the families of the missing persons on the afternoon of the 22nd to do the most basic information registration work. No one has ever met them face-to-face.

In the seven days from the incident on the 20th to the confirmation of their remains on the 26th, the families of Sha Tao and Zou Deqiang continued to search for people in major hospitals and resettlement sites, and they were able to launch a new round through continuous pressure on the Zhengzhou Metro. “Drainage Search and Rescue”. In this process, the Zhengzhou Metro has been delaying or obstructing the tracing, search and rescue of family members for various reasons, as well as avoiding responsibility and avoiding problems. In addition, what is particularly absurd is that during the process of Sha Tao’s wife searching for her husband, there were some accounts maliciously spreading rumors that her husband Sha Tao had been rescued, and some even attempted to cheat through WeChat.

Sha Tao’s wife said that in the accident, the preliminary flood control preparations of Zhengzhou Metro were not in place. Although some subway lines had flooded, Line 5 was still in normal operation. After discovering that the subway was flooded with water for more than an hour, the passengers were not evacuated in time to help escape; the subsequent accidents were not reported in time, and the follow-up search and rescue work was not done. In view of this series of major mistakes, she called on the relevant departments to seek justice for the victims.

The author Zhang Jie wrote in his article “What happened during the Zhengzhou flood disaster as if it were a reenactment of the tragedy of the Wuhan epidemic” published in the “Watch China” newspaper: Cover up information and shirk responsibility before the disaster broke out; deal with confusion and decision-making heights when the incident occurred Centralization; afterwards, information channels were blocked, propaganda machines were used to brainwash the people…It is conceivable that the road to rights protection for the families of the deceased will be extremely difficult, if any of them are willing and able to stand up for rights protection.

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Seven days have passed since the incident, while the families of some missing persons were still waiting day and night at the subway station at Shakou Road, desperately waiting for news of their lost relatives. On July 26, they were killed in a torrential rain in Zhengzhou. The “first seven” of the author, that is, the day when the souls of the dead “go home”, many citizens spontaneously come there to offer flowers and place their grief. However, the authorities soon used yellow plastic baffles to enclose the flowers placed on the ground by the people, and people could only continue to place flowers outside the baffle walls.

At this time, a Zhengzhou man named Wang Jinlei stood up. He led some helping citizens and bravely removed the baffle that blocked people’s memorial at Shakou Road Station. After that, the video recording them removing the baffle was circulated on the Chinese Internet, sparking a lot of discussion.

A netizen with the online name “Fatty is not a pig” commented: “They can’t stop the flood, but they can stop the memorial flowers.” Another netizen “Overseas Search” said: “You can enclose flowers, but you can’t enclose people’s hearts. “The writer Zhang Sanfeng also published an article “Tear Down That Wall and Become a Citizen” in the WeChat public account. The article reads: “Becoming a Zhengzhou native” means that in addition to making a living, they also believe that they have a certain responsibility to the city. The citizens who go to offer flowers and tear down walls do not have to do this. They know the dangers they face. The temporary baffle that encloses the flowers is not strong, but it takes great courage to remove it. Without such’citizens’, cities are just tunnels, highways, and reinforced concrete.”

The public account “Surfing the Heart and Discussing the World” is found in the article “The Zhengzhou Guy Who Breaks Down the Wall. The more such guys, the better!” “In the commentary: “A city, a flood, so many people were killed, so many people were affected. No one went to reflect on the problem, no one apologized to the families of the innocent victims, but there was face and courage. Using a baffle to block people’s deep mourning and remembrance for the victims. This has seriously broken through the bottom line of the minimum moral conscience of mankind.” On July 27, at the same place, someone blocked a longer fence. This caused more anger among Zhengzhou citizens, and eventually these baffles were removed again. Now, the entrance of the Shakou Road Metro Station has become a sea of ​​flowers.

The non-human barrier has been removed, and the non-human information blockade and control and public opinion guidance still exist. On July 27, Nandu reporter Chen Chong took photos of people offering flowers at the subway entrance and was asked to delete them face-to-face by the police. On that night, Caixin photojournalist Chen Liang, who took photos at the same location, was taken away by the Nanyang Road Police Station in Zhengzhou. On the 28th, a Xi’an University student was violently stopped and injured by several unidentified persons while using a drone to photograph the disaster in Zhengzhou. The live video that was posted on WeChat recorded the entire process of this violent incident. A citizen of Zhengzhou therefore asked angrily: “Why can’t you shoot here?” “Why can’t you tell the public the truth?”

At the Jingguang Road Tunnel, another severely affected site, the authorities also strengthened information blockade and control. On July 24, an emergency notice that was suspected to be a “grass-roots propaganda reminder” in the jurisdiction of the Jingguang Road Tunnel in Zhengzhou City was circulated on the Internet, and the text content transmitted by multiple information sources was similar. The notice stated: “At present, many foreign media are interviewing on the Jingguang Road Tunnel. In view of the sensitive topic of the Jingguang Road Tunnel, it is easy to attract high attention from the international public. It is recommended that the district office send staff to go deep into the street and visit the shops along the street from door to door. Merchants are reminded to be vigilant and not to accept interviews with foreign media in private. If you find relevant information, you should promptly report to the district office or directly report to the police. At the same time, pay attention to the way of working: do not notify by SMS or WeChat. Please notify door-to-door verbally.”

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Such information manipulation and agenda setting are very effective, and many Chinese people are hostile to foreign media reporters. During the floods in Henan, many Western journalists have been besieged by the Chinese public at the flood scene and on the Internet. On July 24, a Weibo user “vanessa Yanwu” posted a video and distributed the text: “The BBC is spreading rumors, is this this person?” In the video, a foreign reporter tried to interview Zhengzhou people after a heavy rain. Protests and obstructions. The citizens who besieged him said: “What media? … framing China! … Killing him…” The New York Times Chinese website commented on the incident, “Chinese official institutions even openly encourage such behavior. The public is in foreign media. The hostility is the inevitable result of the cultural war and anti-intellectualist movement launched by Xi Jinping against foreign influence.” There are also comments that “the public’s desire for information and dissemination is natural and legitimate. Many people also hope that foreign reporters will report, but they dare not speak out. It is very likely that the people who take the lead in encircling foreign reporters on the scene are not the real masses. “

After the flood, the tragic experiences of many families of the victims were gradually told and spread on the Internet. On July 27, a photo of “a man in a raincoat picking his daughter home” at the exit of the Shakou Road subway station was reposted by many people on the Internet. The man in the photo is wearing a raincoat and standing in front of the subway station. A piece of cardboard is erected on the bicycle parked beside him. It says “Niuniu: Dad still wants to take you home.” This pain of losing a loved one has caused many people. Feeling the same, many netizens expressed sympathy for this father. However, at the same time, the photo of “Raincoat Daddy” was questioned as a hype by a group of microblogging fans headed by “Midnight Warrior” and “Shiwei Weibo”, and even accused of being instigated by foreign forces behind it. This remark was also strongly supported by its fans. On July 29, a report by the media “Red Star News” confirmed that the questioned “Raincoat Daddy” was indeed the father of a female victim of Zhengzhou Metro Line 5. The previous series of malicious rumors were self-defeating. A one hundred thousand plus article published by the WeChat public account “Newsman” expresses the aspirations of many netizens with conscience: “Why does a father who has just lost a child need to prove that his child has indeed passed away?”

At present, our discussions are focused on Zhengzhou, but more serious disasters in other parts of Henan have not been reported in a timely and accurate manner. The actual number of deaths and loss of contact may far exceed the official figures. Netizen Fu Weigang said: “This heavy rain, the tragic scenes you see now are all from the city, but the real tragic place is in the countryside. You can’t see their pictures, you can’t hear their voices.” Henan uploaded on social media The pictures, videos and text descriptions of the disasters in Xinxiang, Anyang, Hebi, Weihui and other places are all distressing.

In an article titled “Wangzongdian Village “Wangzongdian “Hen’s Most Disaster””, the author Chen Long emphasized several points: One village in Wangzongdian died and 23 people were missing. Did Henan Province forget Wangzongdian Village? 2. Eight days have passed, and more than 10 people are still missing in the village. The villagers used excavators and shovels to find people. I can’t help but ask: 8 days have been delayed, how many days will be delayed for the remaining remains?” At present, this article has been 404, and the WeChat public account that published it has disappeared.

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Along with the severity of the disaster and the tragic experience of the families of the victims spread on the Internet, there is also a sense of national pride that “it is difficult to rejuvenate the country” and that “no matter how big a disaster is, China will not be troubled.” On July 20, when the floods struck, the official Weibo “Zhengzhou Release” of the Propaganda Department of the Zhengzhou Municipal Party Committee published a Weibo saying: “Although this heavy rain is heavy, the city will be cleaner after this heavy rain, which is rare in history. The vegetation will be more verdant and lush.”

In view of this phenomenon, the author Li Huanghao published an article “Why can someone always find pride in disasters?” “, sharply referred to this act of whitewashing peace as the theory of disaster success. He said: “A disaster is a disaster. There is no element of beauty, let alone any element to be proud of. It only has sadness, misery, misery, ruthlessness, despair, sorrow, cruelty, and terror. There is only the death of life, only the fragmentation of the family. “The united Chinese are never afraid of difficulties.” People who say such things after a disaster have no humanity at all. In this kind of values, there is no one, only the country. The greatest harm of this kind of disaster success is not to confuse people. Rather, it will play down the accountability for man-made disasters. The rainstorm red warning is the most serious level. According to the official defense guidelines, the red warning must be closed. However, from the evening of July 19 to the afternoon of July 20, Zhengzhou Meteorological Bureau issued five consecutive releases There was a red warning for rainstorms, but the subway continued to operate until it was forced to shut down on the night of the 20th. It was too late. Whose responsibility is this? Should we be held accountable? Disasters can hardly bring China to life, and man-made disasters may happen.” The article also said. “If you really want to be proud, you can ask the decision makers in Zhengzhou why the subway is still running despite the five red warnings. You can ask for justice for the families of the victims to prevent such things from happening again. This way. Things that are worthy of pride.”

In order to prevent this kind of things that are truly worthy of people’s pride, the government has already prepared corresponding public opinion guidance. On July 28, the official account of the sixth series of CCTV @中国电影报 posted a comment about the Henan floods, stating that “In the face of disasters, rich people pay money, and powerful people contribute, which are all acts of kindness. No matter what. I can’t get out, and it’s kind of kindness to shut up.” However, this comment immediately triggered a strong public opinion backlash on the Internet. Some netizens sarcastically protested: “Shut up who should not shut up.” “Shut up your own disaster, and talk about others’ disasters.” “Everyone shut up. This life-saving lesson paved the way for the next innocent death.”

CDT in China’s Digital Age is committed to recording and disseminating censored information on the Chinese Internet, as well as people’s efforts to fight censorship. We invite you to participate in the sensitive word open source research project and the 404 article archive project to make your contribution to record and fight against Chinese Internet censorship! For details, please visit our website CDT.MEDIA.

This program ends here. See you next time!

The “China Digital Era” YouTube channel will launch this issue of video programs later, so stay tuned.

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