Irony Lost
The United Nations released a video last week called “The Meaning of Democracy” (民主的意義) on YouTube and on Chinese platforms Bilibili and Weibo that described democracy as the “fairest, most inclusive and most adaptive form of governance.” The video prompted lively chatter on Bilibili, also known as “Bzhan,” with one user wryly remarking that “the meaning of democracy is that you can express different opinions about this video without it being deleted.” The comment quickly vanished from the platform’s comment section — the disappearance itself documented and shared.