China 's embassy in the UK has demanded an investigation after its ambassador's officialTwitter account liked a pornographic clip and some tweets expressing anti-China sentiment.- The BBC reported that
Liu Xiaoming 's account liked "a 10-second video posted by an adult-themed page containing clips with Chinese-language descriptions," as well as critical tweets about China. - The embassy said "some anti-China elements viciously attacked Ambassador Liu Xiaoming's Twitter account and employed despicable methods to deceive the public."
- It also said it contacted Twitter and urged it "to make thorough investigations and handle this matter seriously."
China's embassy in the UK has demanded an investigation after its ambassador's official Twitter account liked a pornographic clip and some anti-China posts, claiming the likes were part of a plot to fool the public.
The Twitter account for Ambassador Liu Xiaoming liked what the BBC described as "a 10-second video posted by an adult-themed page containing clips with Chinese-language descriptions."
The like was noticed by Twitter users before it was later un-liked by the account. According to The Guardian, the tweet remained liked for at least an hour.
"Liking" a tweet doesn't republish it on the person's account, but it is possible to see what posts a public account has "liked" on its page.
Liu's account also liked a series of posts critical of the Chinese government.
According to the BBC, they included a tweet that said Chinese officials had "paid lip service to non-interference" so it can to get away with killing its own people, as well as drone footage of
"Liking" a post on Twitter can easily be done as a mistake, and the act does not necessarily mean that the user actually likes the post. It can also mean that users want to bookmark the tweet.
It is also not clear who typically operates Liu's account.
In a statement shared on Twitter on Wednesday, China's UK embassy suggested "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."
—Chinese Embassy in UK (@ChineseEmbinUK) September 9, 2020
It continued: "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."
Liu retweeted the statement on his on Twitter account, commenting: "A good anvil does not fear the hammer."
—Liu Xiaoming (@AmbLiuXiaoMing) September 9, 2020
Liu has repeatedly denied that China violates people's human rights, despite widespread reports and leaked documents saying that it has detained at least one million Muslims in prison-like camps, and has adopted strategies with them like mass surveillance and forced sterilization.
The BBC had showed him the drone footage that his account liked on Twitter earlier this year, and he responded: "There is no such concentration camp in
Business Insider has reached out to both Twitter and Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the UK for comment.
Twitter declined to comment to The Guardian, and told CNN that there was nothing for them to comment on.
Twitter is banned in China, though it is used by its diplomats around the world, who use it to celebrate China and to push the government's agenda.
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