When objects believed to be reconnaissance balloons sent by China were discovered around the world, British YouTubers protested against them and launched balloons with cameras attached to them over the Chinese embassy.
According to the New York Post on the 15th (local time), British YouTubers Josh Peters and Archie Manners flew a white balloon with a camera over the Chinese Embassy in London. The video was uploaded to their YouTube channel on the 9th.
They expressed dissatisfaction with China sending reconnaissance balloons to countries around the world. They explained, “We wanted to send balloons to China, but we couldn’t, so we chose the Chinese embassy.”
In the video, they attach a small camera to a white balloon and float it over the Chinese embassy by attaching a long line. Chinese embassy security guards were alerted to them 10 minutes after the balloons were launched over the embassy. Soon, the armed police guarding the embassy began to punish them.
British YouTubers preparing to launch camera balloons in front of the Chinese Embassy in the UK. Josh & Archie Youtube CapturePeters and Manners protested against the sanctions by the armed police, saying, “I just blew up the balloon like a child blows up a balloon. Why are you sanctioning me?” In response, the police explained, “The embassy can take it as an ‘aggressive signal’.” In the end, the situation ended when the YouTubers burst balloons in front of the police.
They also released a video filmed through the balloon. The video shows the windows of the Chinese embassy office and the rooftop. On the roof of the embassy, a Chinese man presumed to be an employee was wandering around.
On the 14th, they posted a video on TikTok of the process of making balloons that floated over the embassy and their impressions. The video drew attention enough to record 700,000 views in two days.
Most of the local netizens responded that they were delighted with the embassy balloon shooting video. However, some netizens showed reactions such as “The video uploaded for fun can cause diplomatic disputes”, “They acted to give China an excuse”, “If China does it, we become the same person”.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.