At a time when Sino-US relations are strained due to the tariff war, IShowSpeed, a 20-year-old American网红anchor with nearly 40 million YouTube subscribers, has caused a sensation in multiple cities on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong with his continuous live broadcasts of his journey across China.
Known as "甲亢哥" online, his real name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr. In the past ten days, he has visited places such as Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, and Hong Kong.
Each of IShowSpeed's videos lasts four to six hours and has attracted tens of millions of views.
Highlights of his live broadcasts include performing a backflip at the Great Wall while wearing a red floral suit, learning kung fu at the Shaolin Temple in Henan, and visiting Chongqing, which is considered to have postmodern sci-fi architecture.
He also experienced some of China's advanced technologies, including the latest electric vehicles, glasses that can translate in real-time, and tunnels that maintain high-speed network connections.
These moments have garnered cheers from many Chinese netizens, who believe he has shown the advanced side of China to Western audiences, content they claim "would not be reported by Western media." Some even praised him as a tourism ambassador for China.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jia Kun commended IShowSpeed for "presenting an unedited and filter-free true China全景," reigniting a wave of enthusiasm for China across the internet. The official media outlet China News Network commented in an article that a young man had "overthrown" America's anti-China propaganda.
From flipping backward at the Great Wall in a red floral suit to apprenticing at the Shaolin Temple and experiencing China's advanced technology, "甲亢哥's" live streams are unedited and unfiltered, genuine and down-to-earth. His videos not only elicit cheers from Chinese netizens, who believe he showcases China's advanced side that Western media would not report, but also leave many foreign netizens in awe, expressing that they see a China completely different from Western propaganda.
By engaging in unique people-to-people exchanges, IShowSpeed has shattered long-standing Western stereotypes about China, allowing the world to see a real, three-dimensional, and vibrant China. This proves that the power of friendly people-to-people exchanges should not be underestimated; it can transcend political differences and biased public opinion, becoming a bridge for conveying truth and friendship, providing a positive example of civilian interaction for the improvement of Sino-US relations.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828552551234700/
Disclaimer: The article represents the author's personal views.