They called on the people of China to join the international campaign for women’s rights and against Donald Trump scheduled for March 8.
The group called Feminist Voice on the social networking website Sina Weibo was blocked for 30 days for criticising US president Donald Trump. According to activists, the site’s administrators say the ban was imposed for publishing content that violates national laws. The most likely reason for the ban is a link to an article published in the Guardian that misogynistic, sexist, homophobic and racist initiatives by the American president. The article also called on readers to launch an international strike on March 8 to protect reproductive rights of women.
Feminist Voice editor Xiong King thinks the block may be caused by a number of posts urging to join protests against Trump. Activists say the site earlier deleted a lot of the group’s publications, but it’s the first time the group has been blocked. The group with 80,000 followers can’t post anything for 30 days, the period covering the preparation for the protests against Trump’s policies and the international strike itself.
China’s government wants to maintain friendly relations with the US, despite the clear anti-China rhetoric by the American president. Last month, the government’s directive leaked online. The document contains instructions for state-run media regarding US-China relations and Donald Trump personally. Media outlets were told to publish stories about the US president carefully. The document also banned “unauthorised criticism” of his words or actions.
Photo: Maizi Li, Chinese artist and activist
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