Chinese spokesman Zhao Lijian doubles down on Fukushima nuclear tweet
- Zhao pins ‘Great Wave’ post to the top of his feed after protests from Tokyo asking for it to be removed
- Illustration takes aim at Japan’s release of contaminated water from crippled power plant
Instead of taking down the tweet, Zhao Lijian responded to protests from Tokyo by pinning it to the top of his feed.
“You asked whether I will delete the post and apologize. As you may have noticed, I’ve pinned it on top. The illustration reflects legitimate public opinion and a call for justice. It is the Japanese government that needs to revoke its wrong decision and apologize,” Zhao said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The image by a Chinese illustrator is based on Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” and shows waves turning into deformed babies and human fingers. Instead of Mount Fuji, the image depicts nuclear power plants and nuclear waste being dumped into the ocean.
Zhao posted the illustration on Monday and it was shared widely on Chinese social media sites WeChat and Weibo.
