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

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Outspoken former newspaper editor Hu Xijin has reappeared on social media with a post praising a new bridge linking Beijing and neighbouring Hebei province. Photo: Weibo

Published: 7:00pm, 1 Nov 2024Updated: 8:10pm, 1 Nov 2024

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.

It was Hu’s first post on social media since he disappeared from the public spotlight in late July following the deletion of his article interpreting a key Communist Party economic strategy document.

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.

Hu, who left his position at Global Times in 2021, has nearly 25 million followers on Weibo. Known as “Old Hu”, he has not shied away from controversial opinions and has been a prominent defender of Beijing’s policies.