China’s Phantom UFO Shows Xi Struggle to Find the Right Message
- Viral report on plan to shoot down object quickly suppressed
- Xi looks to boost domestic support while improving US ties
This article is for subscribers only.
On Monday, China’s social media networks lit up with a report that the People’s Liberation Army would shoot down an unidentified object flying near a major coastal naval base. Just a few hours later, discussion on the topic had mysteriously fallen off the trending lists.
Besides underscoring China’s general lack of transparency, the episode showed how President Xi Jinping’s government is still struggling to come up with a coherent message some two weeks after a Chinese balloon was spotted flying over the US. Initial contrition has since given way to a mix of US bashing and conspiracy theories, with Communist Party media outlets revving up the issue only to tone it down soon afterward.