Guanchazhe (观察者) is a privately owned website in China, with a focus on global affairs. Its owner Eric Xun Li is a Chinese venture capitalist and political commentator. He is an advocate of communism as a “more effective form of governance.”
Guanchazhe published a commentary by its columnist Gaotiangungun (高天滚滚) titled “The Death of Charlie Kirk: Lighter than a Feather.” The Chinese idiom “Lighter than a Feather” indicates that Kirk’s death was “worthless,” i.e. not of significance. The Chinese Communist Party- (CCP-) controlled Hong Kong media outlet Phoenix republished the piece with a disclaimer noting that posting was by its user Dafeng Hao and that Phoenix had only provided hosting for the article.
The phrase “lighter than a feather” echoes Mao Zedong’s famous line: “Though death comes to all, it may be weightier than Mount Tai, or lighter than a feather.” The author contrasted the February 2024 self-immolation of 25-year-old U.S. Air Force serviceman Aaron Bushnell outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. – deemed “weightier than Mount Tai” – with Kirk’s death, which he called “lighter than a feather.”
The following are some excerpts from the article:
Charlie Kirk once said in 2023: “I think it’s worth the cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the 2nd Amendment. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.”
Two years later, on September 10, 2025, Kirk repeated similar arguments while defending gun rights at Utah Valley University – only to be fatally shot during the event. From the perspective of a man devoted to God, the death of Kirk symbolized his sacrifice to the “rationality” and “honesty” he once stated in defense of firearms.
Kirk has fulfilled the maxim: “A defender of guns for all must not die peacefully of old age.” But his end was more than just “reaping what he sowed.” Given the many “biting the hand that feeds” stances he promoted, if there were some higher “Court of American Values,” its jury might long ago have sentenced him to death. The U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment was simply the bailiff that loaded the live round for his execution.
Kirk never graduated from community college, yet he managed to become a leading voice for America’s far-right youth. I will not belittle his talent on account of his education. Due to limited information, I cannot fully judge his personal morality. History shows that many villains had decent private virtues – polite in person, even seeming like ideal neighbors.
But simply because of his lies and slanders against China, I will never give him any sympathy.
Sources:
1. Guanchazhe, September 12, 2025
https://www.guancha.cn/youziyi/2025_09_12_789900_s.shtml
2. Phoenix, September 12, 2025
https://news.ifeng.com/c/8mbj3V8qn4o