Southwest China's Sichuan Province police announced on Friday that two suspects have been legally transferred for prosecution for widely spreading rumors about Giant Pandas. Photo: Official WeChat account of the public security bureau of Dujiangyan.

The public security bureau of Dujiangyan, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, said on Friday that two netizens have been legally transferred for prosecution for widely spreading rumors about giant pandas for profit, inciting netizens to resist international cooperation in giant panda conservation, defaming organizations and slandering relevant experts and professionals, according to a release on its official WeChat account.

According to the release, in March 2024, the local authorities received public reports about netizens who had widely disseminated rumors regarding giant pandas through short videos and livestreaming.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that since June 2023, the two suspects - a 56-year-old woman surnamed Bai from Xianyang, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and a 40-year-old man surnamed Xu from the same region - had repeatedly fabricated and disseminated false information online, alleging that the Giant pandas Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, that returned to China from the US in November 2023, were being abused.

Bai and Xu had generated over 30,000 yuan ($4,110) in earnings from live broadcasts and raised more than 140,000 yuan from their followers, resulting in a total profit exceeding 170,000 yuan, said the release.

At the same time, they tarnished the reputations of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the China Giant Panda Conservation and Research Center, and other organizations, defaming relevant experts and professionals while inciting netizens to oppose international cooperation in giant panda conservation, according to the local authorities.

Under the instigation of Bai and Xu, some individuals engaged in illegal activities frequently harassed several experts in the relevant fields through phone calls, abusive text messages, and offline disturbances. This severely impacted the experts' normal work and lives and significantly disrupted the working order of the relevant organizations, the release said.

The release also said some individuals conducted illegal activities such as repeatedly calling the government service hotline and the emergency hotline to file false complaints and reports, maliciously occupying public resources and severely disrupting the normal operations of emergency assistance by the relevant organizations.

The actions of Bai and Xu are suspected of violating relevant provisions of China's criminal law and they have been legally transferred for prosecution. The case is currently under further investigation, the local police said.

Global Times