🧵 many in the comments are wondering and speculating on why Mao Zedong? Let's talk about the many reasons from many different sides for why they would use this. symbol...

Symbolically, Mao, among other things, represents both the founding of the country and, in this specific context, "To serve the people" （为人民服务), which is a common chance seen at any and all protests in China which China calls "mass events"..

Practically, by using his face, much like the blank sheets, when protesters are arrested on camera, it has bad optics consequences for the police. Some, in my opinion naively, believe that it gives them plausible deniability.

@USA_BaoziLover Unexpectedly.

@TripInChina No one's too lazy to read hours and hours of rumors and watch hours and hours of rumors but everyone is too lazy to learn anything about Chinese beliefs about freedom, equality and democracy.

@USA_BaoziLover this lady is an expert on china and gives good insights - this is her sideaccount seaweed82, the video is much longer but twitter cut it

@boldlycarryon She seems to understand China better than the average joe, does she have a Twitter?

@USA_BaoziLover I don’t think it is an anti- communist uprising. It seems to be an uprising against Xi or at least his Covid policy. That is quite different than against communism.

@BigMo1959 Even calling it an uprising is dodgy, we didn't call 2020 BLM protests and uprising and those were far more serious and widespread.

@USA_BaoziLover How the fxxk it's not?

@Sasha_88888888 You are posting screencaps that were posted by pro communists to prove foreign interference and participation of MSM journalists in the protest. When BBC journalist Edward got arrested in front of my face while he was protesting last night they were proven right.

@USA_BaoziLover Some of them are literally shouting “down with the communist party” so some are anti-communist.

@laorenchanna As a whole there's nothing homogeneous about any of the demands or slogans or chants.

@USA_BaoziLover My favorite part of the coverage is how the "brutal authoritarian" regime has a bunch of unarmed cops in bright yellow vests arresting people hand-to-hand, while the average Western protest gets tear-gassed by faceless stormtroopers.

@Parasocialist_K As a previous recipient of that tear gas I can't agree more. I didn't see any badge covering either.

@USA_BaoziLover Anti COVID restriction.

@olivetochange Blame what?

@USA_BaoziLover And nearly all of these protesters singing the national anthem of PRC and The Internationale.

@Gohahwei1 @RichardJBardon Exactly! So-called China experts all day have been pretending to not know what the song is 🤣