M4.cn is a Chinese website that describes itself as “youth thought portal”. It’s a new incarnation of Anti-CNN.com, which became famous in 2008 by pointing out inaccuracies and biases in the foreign media reports about the unrest in Tibet in 2008.
Today, M4.cn published a story and video showing U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr. at Wangfujing on Sunday afternoon, when the “jasmine protests” were supposed to take place. The video was also posted to Youtube (see above).
The story and video insinuate that the U.S. and Huntsman’s hand may be behind calls for protest in China.
The U.S. “Embassy spokesman Richard Buangan told AFP he was on a “family outing” and his presence was “purely coincidental”.
Update: Shanghaiist: US ambassador Jon Huntsman now a sensitive term on Chinese microblogs
Update 2: A report about the video has now been broadcast in the U.S. by KSL 5, a Utah-based NBC affiliate.
- M4.cn (Chinese): U.S. Ambassador personally goes to Wangfujing to cheerlead protesters (English version)
- AFP (Yahoo): Renewed call for China ‘Jasmine rallies’
- Global Post: Huntsman: Just passing by the revolution
- Danwei (2008): Rebecca MacKinnon chats to Anti-CNN.com, Western media manhunt