Why CCTV Coverage of Hurricane Sandy Shouldn't Be Criticized

The following post was amongst the hottest today on the popular Chinese Sina Weibo microblogging service, with over 51k reshares/forwards and 13k comments spanning over 650 pages so far and climbing rapidly…

From Sina Weibo:

@安普若-安校长: I think we shouldn’t criticized CCTV for its extensive coverage of the America’s Hurricane Sandy situation. So many children and relatives of government leaders, including the children of the various big and small leaders within CCTV itself, are all studying abroad or working in America, with New York and the East Coast further being where many leaders’ children are concentrated. With a hurricane this big, if CCTV doesn’t report it, would you have the leaders go watch English CNN? The leaders are also parents, with the long-suffering heart of parents, right? What CCTV is doing is a good thing.

Comments from Sina Weibo:

金刚葫芦熊：

So this is the real reason…the poor government leaders.

百擢：

CCTV is so filial.

裸捐的富翁：

How could China’s leaders not care about America? There is family there!

瞥雁惊鸿：

I think our government should donate money to America, wait until they’ve restored/rebuilt their home, then manufacture artillery to attack our Diaoyu Islands!

Dobry2012：

Don’t they usually report disasters that are more serious than usual?

杜聪:

There are a lot of very outstanding Chinese people and America has the world’s best higher educational institutions, the largest economic system, so Chinese-Americans excelling there is a good thing. Even if their parents used to be corrupt officials or unscrupulous businessmen, of bad backgrounds and guilty of serious wrongdoing, if their next generation being in American can be infected by the ideals of freedom and democracy, then use their various efforts to give back to China, that too is a good thing…

梁幕天:

Yep, too ignorant, do people not know that for some people, that [America] is their motherland [true country]?

悠然兰天：

Like I was saying, every channel on television was reporting about the hurricane in America, it’s even more important than the Diaoyu Islands matter.

不戒和尚的微博:

When 70 people died in Beijing [during a recent rainstorm in July], we didn’t even see this much urgency!

bauline：

Hehe, they can’t report domestic affairs, and now they’re not allowed to report some foreign affairs either?

别往后看—-有鬼：

CCAV most sympathizes with the people’s hearts, and even more with the leadership.

西西弗斯的stone：

Criticizing someone without using expletives, now that’s an art!

令尹子产：

Out of humanitarian consideration, I won’t criticize CCTV this time. I just hope that in the future it will treat equally the children of the leaders and cadres and those of the ordinary people.

国人冯韬：

When government leaders check the weather reports, first they look at Beijing, second New York, third Sydney. Definitely a view of the whole world.

Veeeeeeepp：

All we can blame is our own children for not being in America.

张嘉缘：

The leaders are the sons of the people, so their children abroad would be our grandchildren, and we should care about them too!

广西交院外语系：

Use the humanism of the revolution to care about [these] class enemies.

华氏物语333：

Indeed indeed, CCTV’s flattery [of the higher-ups, government officials] is very well done!

美国公立高中：

I’m reminded of a joke my friend once told: If the Lianghui [Two Meetings] were held in September, then I bet a lot of people would request leave, because they have to send their children off to America [for the start of the school year].

蛇王_Lazy：