Visitors to Washington’s National Zoo on Friday witnessed the hilarious unveiling of two pandas on loan from China. Fans also posted photos and videos on social media, as did the zoo. With the hashtag #DCPandas.
But in China, the government sent a chilling message to panda fans asking them to watch their comments online. Some online influencers have been arrested or questioned over what authorities call “rumors” and “extreme fan culture.”
Police are targeting people who advocate animal rights or criticize overseas exchanges like the one that brought pandas to Washington. But state media also issued a warning to the broader panda fan base. The move comes amid a crackdown on internet fan culture by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
There are millions of panda fans in China, many of whom are campaigning for animal welfare in a country where aggressive breeding tactics have resulted in bears being injured and cubs being separated from their mothers prematurely. There is. For years, authorities have tolerated online activity and criticism targeting zoos in China and abroad.
No more. Last month, police in Sichuan province announced the arrest of 12 people on charges of defaming panda experts, inciting violence and spreading false information about pandas. Among them were two animals that once lived at the National Zoo.
Authorities have accused panda influencers of harassing staff at a Chinese breeding center and enriching themselves from livestream donations. Police claim to have busted a “radical animal protection organization” centered on pandas in three provinces, state media said.
Mr. Xi has waged war on online fandom, likening fan groups to “evil cults” in an effort to rein in internet culture. Authorities have detained sports fans for defaming Chinese athletes, arrested people who flocked to airports to greet celebrities, and suspended the accounts of K-pop fans.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to questions sent Wednesday morning.
This crackdown shows how fragile discourse in China is, even when the subject is pandas.
“These civilian ‘patriots’ were sometimes encouraged and even tolerated by the government,” said Xiao Zhang, an internet freedom researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. “However, if new needs arise in the official narrative, panda fans could also be punished and arrested,” he added.
Online influencers maintain playful social media pages where users connect around their favorite animals. These communities have exploded during the pandemic as people stuck at home turned to bamboo-munching animal reels. one panda, What flowerhas more than 880,000 followers on the Weibo platform. Pandas are famous for their mischievous escapes. men runthere are approximately 380,000 items.
Panda enthusiasts also secured policy changes. Their work helped the National Forest Service improve standards for panda enclosures and ban people from paying for pandas. hug a panda.
When the Beijing Zoo bolted metal plates to the windows of Menglan’s enclosure last year to prevent her from escaping, activists flooded government hotlines and social media with complaints. The zoo announced it would remove the plaque and renovate the space.
It also helped that advocacy efforts often had a nationalist tone, such as the campaign to return a mean panda from the Memphis Zoo in 2023.
The National Zoo is a frequent target. Due to the zoo’s application to import pandas Baoli and Qingbao, 38,000 comments It was addressed to the U.S. government, and part of it was written in Chinese. Many commenters noted the zoo’s history of using invasive artificial breeding techniques.
“The panda is a symbol of China,” Xiao said. He said the operation is a “unique combination of propaganda and species-specific conservation” and helps “promote a political narrative.”
But the government’s cautious dance with panda fans is over. Last month’s arrests followed four people arrested in June after tailing a panda expert at a breeding center in western China, calling him a traitor for collaborating with overseas zoos.
In December, the state news agency Xinhua News Agency He warned his fans not to “let irrational and misplaced love damage the field of panda conservation,” and called on them to “create a favorable environment for the development of giant panda conservation research based on science, rationality, and peace.” Ta.
Officials in Sichuan province have accused middle-aged people, an unexpected demographic group, of spending too much time online.
Police said a woman spread “more than 60 rumors and defamatory videos related to giant pandas since August 2023.” They accused the couple of spreading false information on the livestream for money. Authorities did not release the residents’ full names.
While a small number of panda fans are resorting to extreme measures, most others are making reasonable demands, said Panda Voice Singapore, an organization that organizes international campaigns for panda welfare. Sarah Chen, a Chinese volunteer stationed in Japan, said.
“They just want pandas to have a better life,” she says. “They want to eat bamboo shoots and proper bamboo.” But many of their concerns “are largely unaddressed or ignored,” she says.
