China warns its citizens in Washington to take safety precautions against protests and virus
- Chinese state media outlets and commentators are closely following and sharing images of the unfolding situation in the US
- ‘When I woke up, Congress had fallen and the US was in chaos’ one popular and anonymous commentator said on WeChat
The embassy issued a short statement on Thursday morning, after mounting chaos in the US capital which followed Trump’s call to thousands of supporters at a rally near the Capitol that they should “never concede”.
Chinese citizens in the US should beware of both the demonstrations and the coronavirus, it said. “The current epidemic situation in the United States is severe. A large scale demonstration took place in Washington DC on 6 January, and the local government has announced a curfew,” the statement read.
“The embassy reminds Chinese citizens in the United States to pay close attention to the local epidemic and security situation,” it said, and reminded citizens to pay greater attention to safety precautions, and to call the police in case of danger or an emergency.
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“When I woke up, Congress had fallen and the US was in chaos!” read the headline of popular – and anonymous – foreign affairs commentator Bull Playing the Piano’s WeChat account which is run by an editor for state news agency Xinhua.
“What about law and order in the United States?” asked the accompanying article, along with pictures taken from social media outside China’s Great Firewall which showed smoke, guns and rioters in the US capital.
Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of state media tabloid Global Times, said the protests represented a deepening divide in American society. He also blasted Trump for stepping up attacks on China in the last days of his presidency.
“Following this past year’s elections and epidemic, the US has undergone an unprecedented split, and this will only continue [in the future],” Hu said in a podcast broadcast on Thursday morning. “The Trump government is using its final days to provoke China, to test our strategic resolve and intelligence.”
