This is not an April Fools’ Day prank. Or is it? The Chinese government’s state run news agency posted a message on social media on Friday discouraging its citizens from celebrating April Fools’ Day.
According to the New York Times, Xinhua, the news agency in question, hilariously refers to April Fools’ Day as “the West’s so-called ‘Fools’ Day,'” on China’s Weibo messaging service (think a Chinese version of Twitter). You can practically hear the derision dripping off those words. And for more humorlessness, this is how Xinhua explains the holiday:
” ‘Fools’ Day’ is not in line with our country’s traditions and socialist core values,” Xinhua said in a message posted on its Weibo account Friday morning. “We hope you will not believe, create or spread rumors.”
Most of the comments, however, treated this message as a joke, and even veered into government criticism, generally a no-no in China. One choice comment goes like this: “Of course, the mainstream media takes the lead in fooling the people and pretending everything is going great. For us, every day is Fools’ Day.”
According to the Associated Press, another newspaper took issue with Xinhua’s notice. The Beijing News asked, “What’s wrong with giving people a holiday to express themselves, joke around and find some release?”
I know this question is rhetorical, but ask some bloggers who are trying to dodge the fake stories every April 1st. The only good thing about this “holiday” is that it’s usually forgotten by April 2nd.
(Via New York Times and Associated Press)