Dado Ruvic via Reuters
As the Chinese spy balloon that soared across American skies was shot down on Saturday and lawmakers argued over who was to blame, Beijing was basking in the bedlam.
Revelations about the balloon—which China dubbed an “airship”—and its numerous counterparts floating across the world trended across social media both inside and out of China across the weekend and while Republicans and Democrats argued, Beijing had other things in mind: memes and mockery.
Comments on social media from Chinese officials and commentators echoed similar sentiments poking fun at the U.S. for making a big deal over what they claimed was simply a whole lot of hot air. It was a trending topic on China’s biggest social media site, Weibo, with more than 130 million views.