Chinese State Media Criticizes Elementary Students' Participation in Vladivostok Children's Parade: Selling Out National Dignity

Central News Agency, Liao Wenchi, Shanghai, 7th) The recent participation of Chinese elementary students in a children's parade in Vladivostok, Russia, has caused controversy. The WeChat official account "People's Daily Ping'an Campus," affiliated with China's state media People's Daily, published an article on the 6th criticizing that even if diplomacy is pragmatic, "national dignity and historical memory cannot be sold out together." Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok held a children's parade on the 3rd to commemorate the 81st anniversary of World War II victory, with participants including first-grade elementary students from China. After the news spread, it sparked criticism from many Chinese netizens, and related reports and comments were almost deleted. The WeChat official account "People's Daily Ping'an Campus," affiliated with China's state media People's Daily, published an article on the 6th titled "On the Streets of Vladivostok, who are Chinese children cheering for?" The article pointed out that Vladivostok is a humiliating memory of Chinese territory forcibly occupied by Tsarist Russia through unequal treaties in the mid-19th century, a tearful old account of former Chinese residents on this land being expelled, massacred, and cleared. The article emphasized that "history can turn a new page, but perpetrators should at least have basic acknowledgment and remorse, instead of using the stolen land as a stage to celebrate their victory and having Chinese children run to cheer them on." The article also noted that this scene reminds people of the "Sino-Japanese co-prosperity" parades in Japanese-occupied areas in the 1940s, participated in under the bayonets of the Japanese army. Now, no one is holding a gun to their heads, yet they voluntarily bring their first-grade children to the land stolen from their ancestors, lining up, waving flags, shouting slogans, and serving as a backdrop for others. This proactive behavior is unbearable to watch. The article stated, "Diplomacy needs to be pragmatic, and international exchanges should be encouraged, but no matter how pragmatic, national dignity and historical memory cannot be sold out together." Directly inserting children into others' victory narratives, and specifically choosing such a sensitive location, has far exceeded the scope of "friendly activities." The article indicated that there could have been more dignified ways – visiting, understanding, dialogue – instead of directly joining others' ranks to cheer them on. Such blatant and shameless behavior is orders of magnitude more serious than some individuals secretly visiting a certain company. The article finally questioned, "On the streets of Vladivostok, what kind of posture should our children take there?" The article has currently been deleted from the "People's Daily Ping'an Campus" WeChat official account, but there are still many reposts and discussions on WeChat. Many authors who previously wrote similar articles that were deleted, or even criticized for "disregarding the big picture," highly praised this article, pointing out that being friendly with Russia does not mean one should tolerate actions by Russians that "hurt the feelings of the Chinese people." According to the official website of People's Daily, "Ping'an Campus" magazine is supervised by People's Daily and hosted by "New Safety" magazine, founded in 2009. It is currently the only professional journal in China focusing on campus safety from elementary to university levels. (Editor: Wu Su-jou) 1150507. Choose to stand with facts, every donation you make is a force for safeguarding press freedom. Download the CNA "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news in real time. The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.