FAST NEWS: Kuaishou punishes anti-Japanese accounts
The Latest: Short-video platform Kuaishou Technology (1024.HK) announced on Saturday that it has penalized more than 90 accounts whose owners posted untrue and harmful information that incited confrontation between China and Japan.
Looking Up: Kuaishou believes that continuing to address this type of inflammatory content will help to create a healthier online environment.
Take Note: The punishment could fan the flames of anti-Japanese sentiment in China, which already runs high among some influential online nationalists.
Digging Deeper: Kuaishou took its steps following two high-profile attacks on Japanese citizens in China in the last four months. In June, a Japanese mother and son were attacked by a person with a knife outside a school bus station in Suzhou, and a Chinese woman was killed while trying to stop the suspect. Last Wednesday, a 10-year-old Japanese boy was killed by a 44-year-old Chinese man with a knife outside a Japanese school in Shenzhen. Those attacks have drawn international attention to anti-Japanese sentiment in China. Some netizens have said there were nearly 300 anti-Japanese videos promoting the “demolition of Japanese schools” on Kuaishou’s platform, which have accumulated more than 2.3 million likes.
Market Reaction: Kuaishou’s shares slightly fell on Monday, closing down 0.6% to HK$41.2 at the midday break. The stock now trades near the lower end of its 52-week range.
Translation by A. Au
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