China's 'Twitter' appears to have blocked searches for a line from the country's national anthem that tells people to 'stand up' and 'refuse to be slaves'

• The Chinese national anthem kicks off with the line: "Stand up! Those who refuse to be slaves!"
• Searches for a hashtag referencing the line appear to have been blocked on China's Twitter-like Weibo.

The first line of the Chinese national anthem is a rousing call that reads: "Stand up! Those who refuse to be slaves!"

Now, it appears that the line has been barred on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform, amid increasing outrage and frustration over the authorities' handling of Shanghai's harsh COVID-19 lockdown.

Searches on the platform for a hashtag referencing the lyrics appear to have been blocked over the weekend, with users receiving the message "no results can be found" when they attempt to do so.

It is unclear when the blocking of searches began, but a Weibo user's post in reference to it began circulating on Sunday night. Since then, the post has received more than 11,000 likes and close to 3,000 reposts.

"How do you sing the first line of the national anthem?" the user wrote, drawing reactions of laughter and surprise from other users.

"Even the national anthem has been censored. Does that mean that China will also have to change its name soon?" one person commented. Many other users shared the post along with the hashtag "Shanghai" or news reports about Shanghai's Covid situation.

Some users also modified the anthem's lyrics, with one commenting: "Stand up! Those slaves who are hungry and cold."

The apparent censorship comes as residents in Shanghai, a financial hub of 26 million residents, have been placed under a strict and indefinite lockdown amid a surge of COVID-19 cases since late March. With residents barred from leaving their homes to buy essential items, people across the city have said they are running out of food.

Last week, Weibo appeared to have also censored content about food shortages after hungry residents went online to vent their frustrations about obtaining groceries.

There has also been widespread anger after Shanghai officials began separating Covid-positive babies and children from their parents earlier this month, although the controversial practice has since been eased.

Despite the public's reaction, Chinese health officials have stood by their country's "dynamic" "zero-Covid" policy, which entails rapid lockdowns, mass testing, and travel restrictions whenever clusters of cases emerge.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, the city reported 2,417 symptomatic Covid cases and 19,831 asymptomatic cases on Sunday.

Weibo did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.