A number of foreign embassies in Beijing showing support for Ukraine are under watch by increased security personnel in China, where mention of the war has been heavily censored.
The British embassy began flying the Ukrainian flag, visible to all passersby, the morning after Russia invaded in February, and has hoisted it every day since.
The Canadian embassy has put up signs on a heavily trafficked corner in downtown Beijing that reads: “We stand with Ukraine” and “We support Ukraine.” The EU Delegation has lit up its building in blue and yellow, the colours of the Ukrainian flag.
These public displays of support appear to have hit a nerve in Beijing, as evidenced by a spate of Chinese security personnel, including officers in plainclothes and uniform, stationed outside foreign missions.
The officers appear to be taking note of people walking by, especially if they are pausing or taking photos. In some cases, Chinese security have barred passersby from taking pictures.
China has refused to denounce Russia for attacking Ukraine and continues to avoid calling it an invasion or war. Government censors have scrubbed online posts deemed anti-Russia and pro-Ukraine, while state media has largely amplified Russian interests.
Leader Xi Jinping has built close ties over the last decade with Vladimir Putin, investing in relations between their countries to counter what they see as the looming threat of the West.
But China also has trade links with Ukraine, and publicly supporting Russia in the conflict would risk damaging Beijing’s already frail relations with the US, EU and others, hurting growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
Some experts and European diplomats, however, believe China’s silence on the situation has already damaged beyond repair its ties with Kyiv.
State media in China is in a frenzy, publishing pieces that claim the US is fomenting neo-Nazi forces in Ukraine – amplifying disinformation from Russia about why it invaded.
A Chinese state broadcaster censored an impassioned, anti-war speech given at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics last Friday by Andrew Parson, president of the International Paralympic Committee.
