Among the posts deleted from China’s popular Weibo platform today was the following bizarre missive from Chinese journalist and novelist Wang Zhanguo (王湛国), who currently has more than 92,000 fans. The post made the tongue-in-cheek suggestion that the tropical storm that recently swept across the Philippines and south China was a super weapon conjured up by the United States.
Though made in jest, Wang Zhanguo’s post was accompanied by the image of a group chat on the WeChat platform in which one user seriously discussed the possibility that the typhoon was man-made. The post suggested giant waves could be generated by ocean going vessels coordinated by satellites.
The authorities were surely keen to avoid the spread of such rumors, particularly given the currently tense relations between China and the US.
Original user id: Author Wangzhan
Date: 2018-09-19 08:02:06
Censored time: 2018-09-19 08:49:42.229529
Content:
Typhoon Mangkhut has already passed. Even if it hadn’t we would not having anything to fear. No doubt this was an atmospheric weapon deployed by the American imperialists, the same thing they previously used when invading Vietnam. This is nothing new. These days the gallant masses have already reverted to Yin Yang Tai Chi Theory (阴阳太极理论) to decode the world!
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Original user id: 作家王湛
Date: 2018-09-19 08:02:06
Censored time: 2018-09-19 08:49:42.229529
Content:
台风山竹过去了。它没过去也不可怕，这个无非是美帝的气象武器罢了，过去侵略越南时已经用过，并不是什么新鲜玩意儿，现在我英勇的人民群众早已根据阴阳太极理论找到破解之道了！
