On March 5, the Wuhan Party Secretary, Wang Zhonglin, ordered people to conduct a “be grateful” education campaign to lead the Wuhan people to “be grateful to Xi Jinping and be grateful to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).”
Chinese netizens gave it an overwhelmingly negative response.
As a result, the CCP was forced to change its position. It removed the “be grateful to the CCP” article and officials in Hubei and Wuhan thanked the people instead.
Epoch Times reported that an official document, said to be the minutes of a State Council Information Office meeting, has circulated on the Internet. The minutes, dated March 7, stated that Changjiang Daily’s report on Wang Zhonglin’s “be grateful” education campaign has resulted in an enormous public response. The public opinion on this issue has been as heated as the public responses on the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, the whistle blower doctor. “After communicating with Hubei Provincial and the Wuhan Municipal leaders, and obtaining the CCP Central’s approval, (we ask) that: Changjiang Daily (newspaper under Wuhan Party Committee), the Wuhan Announcement (the official WeChat account of the Wuhan Internet Information Office), and Wuhan Television should remove the articles from their original sites. Other media should not fIllow or comment on this issue! Whether it is for domestic propaganda or international propaganda, whether it is from the Central government or from local government, whether it is online or off line, everyone should follow the directions (from the top) and cannot do things based on their own will.”
Radio France International reported that, in an attempt to soothe the public antagonism, Wang Zhonglin said on March 8, when visiting a neighborhood community in Wuhan, “Wuhan is a heroic city. The Wuhan people are heroic people.”
Ying Yong, the Hubei Provincial Party Secretary also said on March 8, “Wuhan is a heroic city. The Wuhan people are heroic people.” “I am expressing my sincere gratitude to the Wuhan People, the Hubei People.”
Related postings on Chinascope:
- Leadership: Wuhan Party Chief Asked Wuhan People to Be Grateful to Xi Jinping and the CCP
- Leadership: Background of the Two Hubei Officials Who Were Removed from Their Positions
- Leadership: “The General Secretary Came to My Home”
- Leadership: The Hype and Stop of the Book “The Great Power Fighting Epidemic”
Image of the meeting minutes of a State Council Information Office meeting, requesting to delete Wang Zhonglin’s order of the “Be Grateful to the CCP” education from the original source:
1. Excerpt in Chinese:
同时，网络传出中共国新办会议纪要、要求删除有关王忠林报导的相关禁令。会议内容称，今天，《长江日报》的感恩教育报导引发的舆论非常汹涌，舆情反应热度与某医生去世引发的舆情相似。
并称，“经与省、市领导沟通，并请示中央领导同意：《长江日报》、武汉发布、武汉台从源头撤掉稿件，其它媒体一律不得再跟进报导、评论！”还称，“无论内宣还是外宣，无论中央还是地方，无论网上还是网下，都要听招呼……不得各自为战。”
Source: Epoch Times, March 9, 2020
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/3/9/n11925865.htm
2. Excerpt in Chinese:
出于这一讲话本身的问题性及舆论带来的巨大压力，综合中国媒体报道显示，湖北省委书记应勇、武汉市委书记王忠林随后纷纷提出，“要衷心感谢武汉人民”。王忠林当天在走访武汉一小区时称，“这里41天没有发生疫情，是全体居民共同努力的结果。武汉是英雄的城市，武汉人民是英雄的人民。”当天下午，王忠林还主持召开市新冠肺炎疫情防控指挥部视频例会。他再次强调，广大武汉市民为了疫情防控大局付出很多，做了很大贡献。
同样在国际妇女节这一天，湖北省委书记应勇，省委副书记、省长王晓东在武汉看望慰问抗疫一线妇女同胞代表时发出节日慰问。应勇说，“武汉是英雄的城市，武汉人民是英雄的人民。”他提到，“疫情发生后，我们的城市摁下暂停键，武汉人民识大体、顾大局，克服疫情给务工、经营、就业、生活带来的种种困难，积极支持配合党委政府的各项防控措施，守望相助、同舟共济，全力以赴抗击疫情，展现了坚忍不拔的顽强意志和甘于奉献的牺牲精神，令人钦佩，我向武汉人民、湖北人民表示衷心感谢。”
Source: Radio France International, March 9, 2020
http://www.rfi.fr/cn/中国/20200309-疫情中提倡感恩教育遭批-王忠林反转要感谢-武汉英雄人民