OPINION / LETTERS
Netizens should put down MH370 torches and pitchforks
"I haven't been to Malaysia but I will not travel there for the rest of my life," wrote Meng Fei, a TV host known for his matchmaking show If You Are the One, on his Weibo account, winning more than 190,000 thumb-up from netizens.
As the investigation of MH370's mysterious crash continues with little result, it's not only family members of passengers on the doomed flight who are growing impatient, but also the general public in China.
The Chinese public has seen conflicted announcements and endless denials as the hallmark of the Malaysian authorities since day one, which stirred huge confusion that later turned to anger.
Netizens even created a rhyme to mock the ineffectiveness of the Malaysians: "The Vietnamese are always searching while the Malaysians are always denying."
Malaysia's official announcement of the crash almost two weeks after the initial disappearance did nothing to ease these complaints, but instead further aggravated their distrust toward Malaysians.
In the meantime, conspiracy theories have been invented to fill the vacuum of hard evidence.
Many are accusing the Malaysia government of hiding critical information, even arguing that the Malaysians had been secretly dealing with the planes' supposed hijackers, claimed to be supporters of the opposition party.
Malaysia has poured huge effort in solving the MH370 puzzle, but this has done little to convince either the Chinese public or the families of the victims.
Worse, since the public knows little about plane crash investigations, and the Chinese media hasn't been helping, they are being manipulated by Internet rumors, seeing themselves as victim of Malaysian's "evil" scheme.
Pushed by populism and nationalism, some of them are even demanding the Chinese government "punish" Malaysia for its supposed misdeeds.
One widely cited post on Weibo reads "If there were 154 Americans on the plane, the Malaysian would already be facing an international trial. If there were 154 Russians on that plant, Malaysia would have been wiped out by nuclear bombs."
It is indeed a concern, yet people who are aware of this dangerous sentiment are powerless to change it. Some tried to warn the public, but were quickly labeled as "traitors."
On March 24, the Global Times ran an article written by a senior scholar and former politician from Malaysia, "Malaysia's political rivalries bedevil search for lost MH370 flight," in which he explained why the search operation has been slow and clarified some rumors. It was a good article but drew virulent abuse online.
We can only hope that the search finds the remains of the plane and its critical "black box" soon, as only hard facts can throw cold water on the public's paranoia.
Ash Gao, a reporter based in Beijing
Read more in Special Coverage:
As the investigation of MH370's mysterious crash continues with little result, it's not only family members of passengers on the doomed flight who are growing impatient, but also the general public in China.
The Chinese public has seen conflicted announcements and endless denials as the hallmark of the Malaysian authorities since day one, which stirred huge confusion that later turned to anger.
Netizens even created a rhyme to mock the ineffectiveness of the Malaysians: "The Vietnamese are always searching while the Malaysians are always denying."
Malaysia's official announcement of the crash almost two weeks after the initial disappearance did nothing to ease these complaints, but instead further aggravated their distrust toward Malaysians.
In the meantime, conspiracy theories have been invented to fill the vacuum of hard evidence.
Many are accusing the Malaysia government of hiding critical information, even arguing that the Malaysians had been secretly dealing with the planes' supposed hijackers, claimed to be supporters of the opposition party.
Malaysia has poured huge effort in solving the MH370 puzzle, but this has done little to convince either the Chinese public or the families of the victims.
Worse, since the public knows little about plane crash investigations, and the Chinese media hasn't been helping, they are being manipulated by Internet rumors, seeing themselves as victim of Malaysian's "evil" scheme.
Pushed by populism and nationalism, some of them are even demanding the Chinese government "punish" Malaysia for its supposed misdeeds.
One widely cited post on Weibo reads "If there were 154 Americans on the plane, the Malaysian would already be facing an international trial. If there were 154 Russians on that plant, Malaysia would have been wiped out by nuclear bombs."
It is indeed a concern, yet people who are aware of this dangerous sentiment are powerless to change it. Some tried to warn the public, but were quickly labeled as "traitors."
On March 24, the Global Times ran an article written by a senior scholar and former politician from Malaysia, "Malaysia's political rivalries bedevil search for lost MH370 flight," in which he explained why the search operation has been slow and clarified some rumors. It was a good article but drew virulent abuse online.
We can only hope that the search finds the remains of the plane and its critical "black box" soon, as only hard facts can throw cold water on the public's paranoia.
Ash Gao, a reporter based in Beijing
Read more in Special Coverage:
