Official Chinese Communist Party propaganda poster on Wang Wei’s plane collision incident © Web Photo
On April 1, 2001, an aerial collision occurred between Chinese and U.S. military aircraft over the exclusive economic zone of Hainan Island, China. Wang Wei, a PLA pilot flying a J-8II fighter jet to conduct surveillance and interception, crashed after colliding with the U.S. military plane, and was killed in the line of duty after parachuting. Chinese official media have recently publicized and commemorated the death of Wang Wei, a PLA pilot who died in the line of duty 20 years ago in a collision with a U.S.-China fighter jet, while releasing many unpublished Family letters and photos. In the tense atmosphere of the U.S.-China standoff, this move is seen as a means to rally anti-American sentiment.
The 20th anniversary of the U.S.-China military aircraft collision was marked by high-profile publicity in the Chinese official media. According to a Central News Agency report today, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Wang Wei’s death in the line of duty, and Chinese official media have stepped up efforts to commemorate the “people’s hero,” intending to use the incident to focus on the recent tensions between the U.S. and China and use it to rally domestic anti-American sentiment. This morning, Niu Shuqin, a WeChat public website with an official media background, published an article titled “April 1, the most complicated day for Chinese people”, in which it listed a number of events that occurred on April 1, the first of which was Wang Wei’s death in the line of duty.
The article even extrapolated from this to emphasize that the unpleasant events of the past have spurred China to work on its own and to forge ahead, and that 20 years later, China is not the same China.
According to the report, the official media CCTV and Xinhua also released a large piece of related news on the 31st, not only interviewed Wang Wei’s family, but also made public for the first Time several letters written by Wang Wei to his wife, as well as photos of his military service and documents related to his application to join the Communist Party. The report not only said in a warm tone, “For 20 years, we have been waiting for you to come Home,” and called on Chinese netizens to “send a tweet in memory and tribute to the young man,” but also emphasized that the U.S. military violated China’s airspace, which led to Wang Wei’s death.
In addition, the People’s Liberation Army Daily, the Chinese military website, and several Chinese government microblogs have also retweeted a short tribute to Wang Wei.
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