Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg was taunted by netizens after posting a picture on the social media site of him running through Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Friday morning.
Many were curious as to how Zuckerberg bypassed the country’s online censorship, as Facebook is generally inaccessible in China without the use of a virtual private network (VPN). Scholarism convenor and student activist Joshua Wong shared the post on his Facebook page asking, “How [did you] update your Facebook in China, Mark?”
Civic Passion leader Wong Yeung-tat commented similarly asking, “How did you get [past] the ‘Great Firewall’?”
Netizens were also determined to remind Zuckerberg of the massacre that took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989. A Facebook user said, “The floor you [stepped on] has been covered by blood from students who fought for democracy. But, enjoy your running in China, Mark.”
Another said, “Tiananmen Square. The place where a hero before years [stood up] against oppression and torture!… His name is [tank man].”
Chinese lifestyle website The Beijinger pointed out that the air quality index (AQI) on Friday morning was 337, which meant that it reached the level of “hazardous”. “How far would you go to curry favor with China?” the website asked. “How about running through Tiananmen Square without a mask in this morning’s thick-as-pea-soup AQI 337 air?… If this doesn’t get Facebook unbanned in China, nothing will.”
Zuckerberg posted a video over Chinese New Year, announcing with his wife Priscilla Chan in Mandarin that they had given their daughter Max a Chinese name. Previously, he had unsuccessfully asked Xi Jinping to name his unborn baby.
