China’s internet reacts to ‘state of war’ between Texas and US federal government

As the battle of wills over immigration continues between the White House and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a similar debate is occurring in China, and trending social media posts threaten to challenge the Lone Star State’s right to secede from the United States. I support it.

This week on China’s X-like microblogging site Weibo, an account with more than 1 million followers spread false information claiming that Texas was in a “state of war” with the federal government. In the comments section, Chinese netizens greeted the news with excitement and glee.

U.S. border officials said more than 250,000 immigrants attempted to enter the country illegally last month alone, more than in any month since 2000.

Mr. Abbott declared the crisis an “invasion” and vowed to continue to strengthen security following a Supreme Court ruling allowing federal border officials to remove border fortifications in Texas.

On Monday, a Weibo account on China’s highly regulated social media website with about 1.2 million followers mixed fact and fiction to create a misleading account of the Texas border dispute, and Mr. Abbott claimed to be preparing for war with U.S. federal authorities.

“If the US really pushes Texas back, that would be a lot of fun,” a user said. I want both of us to fight until the end without being cowardly!

In a follow-up post on Tuesday, the user said he felt inspired to “definitely donate money and effort” to support the cause against America’s “imperialist oppression” in Texas and other parts of the world. Stated.

Schadenfreude was evident in many of the comments on his post.

One Chinese netizen responded, “Every day I hear the sound of the American empire collapsing.”

In the comments section, some discussed Texas’ history, Texans’ well-known independence movement, and the state’s right to secede from the Union.

“They are [the U.S.] “Even if we’re in a civil war, that doesn’t stop the stock market from continuing to hit new highs,” said another reporter.

But other Weibo users seemed perplexed by the lack of media attention given to the alleged breakup of the world’s most powerful country.

“Only a few sporadic media outlets are reporting on the [on Texas]. Meanwhile, the domestic media is overwhelmingly reporting news about monkeys and cats at Yunnan Zoo,” one person wrote.

China’s online information environment is largely isolated from the outside world, making it difficult for ordinary Chinese Internet users to independently verify claims.

The phenomenon is first discovered According to Wenhao Ma, a journalist who specializes in Chinese online propaganda and disinformation for the US government-funded news organization Voice of America.

On January 22, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Border Patrol agents could temporarily block razor wire and other barriers installed by Texas to deter immigration while Texas’ case was heard in federal court. The court issued a judgment allowing the removal of the building.

Mr. Abbott has fought multiple legal battles with the U.S. Department of Justice over the state’s immigration deterrent strategies, including the use of razor wire along parts of the border and the floating saw barrier on the Rio Grande.

The Biden administration has criticized these tactics as “dangerous” and “cruel.”

Attorneys general from more than 20 Republican-controlled states wrote an open letter to President Joe Biden last week saying they oppose recent calls to federalize the Texas National Guard supported by some Texas Democrats. did.

“Texas should be commended for continuing to try to protect its borders even as the federal government could once again try to tear down the barriers Texas has erected,” they said. , noted that the Supreme Court did not explicitly order Texas to act unilaterally. Or something else.

States including Virginia, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Arkansas have sent large numbers of National Guard troops to support border workers in Texas since last year.

The Supreme Court’s ruling sends the case back to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, where it awaits a Feb. 7 hearing.

This decision has sparked renewed debate among American netizens regarding withdrawal.

The hashtag “Texit”, which refers to Brexit, the movement behind the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union in 2020, is trending on X (formerly Twitter).

Dmitry Medvedev, an ally of President Vladimir Putin and former Russian president and current number two on the Security Council, said on Friday that the United States is fighting a civil war even deadlier than the one that has killed more than 600,000 people. He speculated that he was preparing to “fall into the abyss.” He died between 1861 and 1865.

“Under President Biden’s lawless border policy, more than 6 million illegal immigrants have crossed our southern border in just three years,” Abbott wrote in an open letter on January 24. That’s more than the population of 33 states.” ”

Abbott said he had “already declared an invasion” and invoked “Texas’ constitutional defense powers.”

“The Texas National Guard, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and other Texas state employees work to secure the Texas border based on their authority as well as state law,” the governor said.

newsweek reached out to the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., Abbott’s office, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment, but did not receive a response before publication.