As the United Nations looks to guilt the developed world into opening its borders to refugees from the Middle East, Chinese state media claim that Internet users are using social media to condemn the call, issuing a resounding “no” to the U.N.
In his speech Tuesday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres used World Refugee Day to scold developed countries for closing their doors to refugees. That day, another U.N. official attempted to make a similar argument to China.
According to China’s state-run Global Times, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made a plea to China for refugees in a post on China’s social media network, Weibo.
“We have to do better for these people. For a world in conflict, what is needed is determination and courage, not fear,” Commissioner Filippo Grandi said in the post.
However, the Times reported that the top comments under the post were unanimously critical, with one telling the U.N. to “stop creating an atmosphere that we should accept refugees, it’s revolting. If we don’t have that kind of national prowess, we shouldn’t randomly receive refugees.”
Another said, “There are still a lot of Chinese people who live in poverty and can’t pay for medical bills. Shouldn’t we solve our own problems first?”
The South China Morning Post reported, also on Weibo, that about 97 percent of respondents in a poll involving 150,000 users said “no” to letting refugees from the Middle East into mainland China. The Post reported that the vehemently negative reaction came after the U.N. hosted a film screening on the plight of refugees, while state media outlets have run TV shows praising China’s relief efforts in the region.
The Post reported that some Internet users fear the coverage was to “set the agenda” for more refugees, amid rumors the government was considering relaxing its stricter rules on refugee admission.
“We carried out 30 years of the one-child policy not to make space for them,” said one user.
Others were clearly spooked by some of the horrific reports coming from Europe’s admission of refugees.
“We don’t need those who abandoned their families to live on another country’s social benefits and commit burglary and rape. And we don’t want to live in the fear of terrorist attacks like Europe!” another user said, whose post was reportedly “liked” more than 5,000 times.
According to the Post, Actress Yao Chen, who serves as the ambassador for the UNHCR in China, had to shut down the comments on her account due to backlash after posting a message saying, “One day we might become refugees.”
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY