Tens of thousands of people in China are flocking to an unusual venue to vent their outrage about the continuing meltdown in the country’s stock market.
They’ve been posting comments on a Chinese-language social media account of the US Embassy in Beijing expressing anger and frustration with the market rout.
Mainland Chinese markets slumped again Monday after their worst week in years. More than 1,800 stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets, accounting for a third of all stocks listed in China, slumped more than 10%.
A post by the embassy Friday on Weibo about protecting wild giraffes in Africa attracted more than 160,000 comments, many of which were unrelated to animal protection.
“The US government, please help Chinese stock investors,” a user wrote in a repost of the article.
Many posts later appeared to be scrubbed by censors. Chinese authorities have recently stepped up their censorship of criticism about the stalled economy and market chaos.
CNN has reached out to the US Embassy for comment.
On Monday, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped for a sixth straight session, down 1% and hitting its lowest close in four years. Last week, the index fell 6.2% in its biggest weekly loss since October 2018.
The Shenzhen Component Index swung wildly between gains and losses during the trading day, before ending down 1.1%. The index slid 8.1% last week.
Internet users likely chose the US Embassy’s Weibo page to protest because other outlets have been closed off. For example, China’s market regulators have disabled the comments sections of their own social media accounts.
Since late last year, some of China’s most prominent analysts have been subjected to social media restrictions that appear designed to reduce their ability to comment on the country’s economic problems.
Jokes, sarcasm
To get around the censorship, some social media users resorted over the weekend to euphemisms and jokes.
”Arise! All giraffes who refuse to be slaves,” one user said in a repost of the US Embassy’s animal story. The phrase draws from the first line of China’s national anthem: “Arise! All who refuse to be slaves!”
“The entire giraffe community is filled with optimism,” another user said, poking fun at an article published Friday by the state-owned People’s Daily newspaper about the visit of a German communist politician under the headline “the whole country is filled with optimism.”
Monday’s market losses suggest investors remain unconvinced by Chinese regulators’ repeated pledges to bolster confidence. On Sunday, the China Securities Regulatory Commission vowed again to prevent “abnormal fluctuations” in the stock market. But it did not offer any details about how it would do so.
“Despite attempts by state authorities to stabilize the market, investor sentiment remains fragile, reflecting deep-seated concerns about the reliability of government policies and the regulatory framework,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.
Further, “the uncertainty surrounding Chinese markets and trade relations is compounded by the possibility of increasing tariffs on China, as proposed by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump,” he added.
In an extraordinary message, a listed company appears to be suggesting that Chinese investors take a break from the stock market — if only for a few days over the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday.
“Life is not only about the stock market, but also about parents, spouses, children and friends. [We] recommend that investors temporarily leave the stock market, let go of their obsessions, change their mood, and welcome the New Year with a relaxed and peaceful mood,” Hangzhou Yitong New Materials said in a comment posted in response to a question from investors in an online forum run by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
The Shenzhen-listed company, which produces metal products, has lost 42% of its stock market value since the start of this year.
Altogether, about $6.1 trillion in market value has been wiped from the Chinese and Hong Kong stock markets since their recent peaks in February 2021, according to a CNN calculation based on data from the Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong exchanges.
A record downturn in its dominant real estate market, high youth unemployment, deflation and a rapidly falling birthrate are just some of the issues ailing the world’s second-largest economy.
This article has been updated with new information.
CNN’s Martha Zhou contributed to reporting.
