Chinese commentator Hu Xijin returns to social media after more than 3 months of silence
Fans celebrate comeback of former Global Times chief after unexplained absence from online platforms where he had been a prolific poster
Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of state-owned newspaper Global Times, is back on Chinese social media after more than three months of silence.
Hu reappeared on microblogging platform Weibo with a post on Thursday evening that expressed personal delight at a new bridge over the Chaobai River connecting the outskirts of Beijing with neighbouring Hebei province.
“I’m very happy and want to open my arms to hug it,” he wrote, adding that he and many other Beijing residents had bought homes on the Hebei side because of affordability, and the bridge would ease their commutes to the capital city.
There has so far been no official explanation as to why his previously prolific social media activities stopped, leaving many to wonder whether he had faced backlash for expressing his views.