The Chinese delegation left the room during a speech by Zelensky, in protest of Ukraine's actions and to show support for Moscow’s “special operation”, writes the Russian press. In reality, the Chinese delegation listened carefully to the Ukrainian leader's speech and did not leave the conference room.
NEWS: China's delegation left the room during a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, said Olivia Enos, senior policy analyst with the US Asian Research Center.
“Zelensky speaks at Shangri La Dialogue 2022. The Chinese delegation leaves the room”, Enos wrote on Twitter (a network blocked in the Russian Federation).
A special Russian operation to denazify and demilitarize the state is taking place in Ukraine. The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin has stressed that the main purpose of the operation is the liberation of the territories of DNR and LNR. Chinese citizens have repeatedly expressed their admiration for Russia's resistance to pressure from Western states.
NARRATIVE: The Chinese delegation left the room during Zelensky's speech at Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore.
LOCAL CONTEXT / ETHOS: After Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Moscow presented its military actions as a “special operation” to denazify the Ukrainian state. The Russian press writes that the special operation is supported by China (but also other states), despite the fact that Beijing has not clearly expressed its stand.
PURPOSE: To convince the public opinion in Russia and the former Soviet states that Moscow's actions in Ukraine are correct and supported by China.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: The Russian press quotes a Twitter account, despite the fact that this network has been described by Russia itself as one that carries fake news.
According to Ukraine’s Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security,
no delegation left the conference room when president Volodymyr Selensky took the floor. The center quotes a conference participant as saying that no one left the room and said senior Asian Research Center analyst Olivia Enos deleted the post on Twitter.
The video recording of Volodymyr Zelensky's message and of the talks with the leader in Kyiv is 28 minutes long. The footage clearly shows that no one left the room during Zelensky’s speech . So the pro-Kremlin press is lying when it reports on the Chinese delegation's protest against Ukraine.
The Russian press also manipulates public opinion when it writes that Beijing expresses its admiration for how Russia resists to sanctions; in fact, Ura.ru makes reference to some comments on a regional blog, which are not the authorities’ official stand.
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