Chinese language POW Says TikToks Satisfied Him to Be part of Russian Army

A Chinese language prisoner in Ukraine stated movies on Douyin, China’s model of TikTok, enticed him to affix Russia’s army.

The person, recognized by Ukraine as 34-year-old Wang Guangjun, spoke with worldwide and Ukrainian press in a two-hour press convention on Monday. He and one other Chinese language man described what they stated was life in Russia’s armed forces and their eventual journey to the entrance traces.

Each males had been captured in Donetsk, Ukraine stated on Wednesday. As a result of they’re prisoners of battle, their capacity to talk freely on the convention is unclear, and Enterprise Insider could not independently verify their statements — although they’re per what could be noticed on Chinese language social media.

Wang instructed the press in Mandarin that he was an “unusual worker” in China who labored in rehabilitation remedy.

“My household could be thought of a moderately harmonious one, with a spouse, with children, with mother and father,” Wang stated. “However due to China’s pandemic issues, I misplaced my job. So I used to be searching for any form of work; that is how I ended up on this scenario.”

Wang stated that whereas in China, he’d watched “flashy and funky” movies on Douyin of Russian troopers and weapons.

“As a result of in China, the standing and social id of a Chinese language soldier may be very excessive, particularly within the hearts of the general public,” Wang stated. “So in China, each male has this dream of success.”

“If you find yourself in China and haven’t any likelihood of being a soldier, and also you see this type of alternative, you are feeling a stirring of the guts,” he added. “And I got here from that form of motivation.”

ByteDance, the agency that owns Douyin and TikTok, did not reply to a request for remark despatched by BI.

Rehab therapist on the entrance traces

Wang stated he’d seen a video selling a job in Russia’s army that concerned offering rehabilitation remedy to injured troopers.

“It stated that as a consequence of Russia’s final two years of preventing, there have been a variety of injured individuals who wanted us to manage rehabilitation remedy,” he stated.

He added that the video promised the function would not contain preventing in opposition to Ukraine.

“After I arrived in Moscow and reported for work, in addition they instructed me the identical. However after I adopted them to the recruitment workplace and signed up, after which went to the coaching camp, I used to be not accountable for my scenario,” he stated. “At that time, I might not make my very own choices.”

Chinese social media platforms typically function pro-Russia movies — from Chechen particular forces exhibiting off captured NATO weapons to clips of younger Russian troopers labeled as “good-looking large brothers.” State media typically emphasizes Moscow and Beijing’s “no-limits” partnership.

Nonetheless, Wang stated Chinese language authorities had warned him to not cross into Russia for the job, which he did anyway. He and the opposite Chinese language prisoner, recognized as 27-year-old Zhang Renbo, stated they weren’t related to any Chinese language safety or armed forces.

Wang stated he was given a couple of days of coaching in Moscow after which despatched in February to the Russian cities of Kazan and Rostov. He stated he was finally deployed to northern Donetsk on April 4, after which he was captured by Kyiv’s forces.

A vacationer within the trenches