China’s UK embassy on Wednesday demanded that Twitter carry out a “thorough” investigation and reserved the right to take further action after its ambassador’s account “liked” a pornographic post.
The embassy said that Chinese Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming’s (劉曉明) account had been “viciously attacked” after it liked tweets including posts critical of the Chinese Communist Party and a 10-second video of a sex act.
The likes remained active for at least an hour and were widely commented on before the pornographic tweet was unliked and then later the others.
Photo: Reuters
Some hours later a spokesman for the embassy released a statement condemning the alleged hack.
“Recently some anti-China elements viciously attacked Ambassador Liu Xiaoming’s Twitter account and employed despicable methods to deceive the public. The Chinese embassy strongly condemns such abominable behavior,” it said.
“The embassy has reported this to Twitter company and urged the latter to make thorough investigations and handle this matter seriously. The embassy reserves the right to take further actions and hope that the public will not believe or spread such rumor,” it said.
Liu republished his embassy’s tweet, adding the caption: “A good anvil does not fear the hammer.”
Twitter declined to comment on the incident.
Twitter is among numerous social media platforms banned in China, but its diplomatic missions and staff around the world maintain accounts.
Liu set up his Twitter account in October last year. He has more than 85,000 followers.
The account primarily shares stories from Chinese state media, praising updates of China’s COVID-19 response and rejections of reports on China’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
A video clip of Liu denying human rights atrocities in Xinjiang during an interview with the BBC, even when confronted with drone footage, was widely shared on Twitter in July.
Liu is known as one of China’s most outspoken diplomats, using a pugnacious approach in media interviews and online to defend his government.
A Twitter user “liking” a tweet on the platform does not republish it, but the tweet does show up in a list easily accessible on their profile.
It can be relatively easy for a Twitter user to accidentally like a tweet, but that tweet must show up on their feed.
Liu follows just 14 accounts, mostly Chinese state media or official Chinese and UK government accounts, and the UK royal family.
Additional reporting by AP
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a
RSS