Chinese blogger fans flames of controversy by blaming ‘lazy and unpatriotic’ Australians for bush fires

Post contrasting China’s handling of the 1987 Daxinganling wildfire with the current situation in Australia prompts vigorous debate. Comments that blame fires on ‘human rights and democracy’ face criticism for turning a Chinese disaster into patriotic ‘song of triumph’ to gain clicks online. — SCMP

A viral blog that attacked Australia’s failure to stop the months-long bushfires and implied Chinese firefighters were braver and more patriotic has stirred a vigorous online debate.

The WeChat post contrasted the situation in Australia with China’s largest-ever wildfire, which lasted just under a month in 1987, and quickly racked up more than 23 million views after it was published.