Weibo suspends accounts of over 1,000 critics of Chinese government’s COVID decisions

The Chinese social media website Weibo suspended the accounts of over 1,000 users who appeared to criticize the decision of the Chinese government to drop its severe COVID-19 restrictions last month.

Weibo suspended some accounts permanently and some temporarily, citing a violation of its terms. About 1,120 accounts were suspended for allegedly speaking out against the Chinese government’s COVID-19 experts who pushed for the country to drop its intense set of rules regarding the virus, including quarantine for international visitors and mass testing and quarantines of Chinese citizens. Once the COVID restrictions were lifted in December after weeks of civil unrest, infection numbers shot up, resulting in more public outcry.

In a statement regarding the account suspensions, Weibo specified that it had investigated over 12,000 accounts and suspended 1,120 of them.

“It is not acceptable to hurl insults at people who hold a different point of view, or publish personal attacks and views that incite conflicts,” the company said in a public statement. “Any kind of move that is destructive to the [Weibo] community would be handled in a serious manner.”

The sudden switch from China’s zero-COVID policies in place since 2020 has resulted in an outbreak of the virus that has overwhelmed the country’s healthcare system and hospitals. International travelers are now only required to quarantine for a few days instead of ten.

The same change was made to those who test positive for the virus and those who come into close contact with them.