All aboard the (Chinese Communist) party bus, anyone?
Hong Kong’s public transportation is painting the town red with striking advertisements celebrating the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The buses, minibuses and trams, featuring gold slogans to herald the party’s July 1 centennial birthday and the anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China, have been spotted across the city in the lead up to the two dates.
According to state media CCTV, 100 buses, 50 minibuses and eight trams in the city have been plastered with the red and gold ads.
The advertisements also promote a celebratory 3D light show on Victoria Harbor, to be viewed at Tamar Park in Admiralty from July 1 to July 4.
On Tuesday, a reporter at Chinese state media outlet Global Times tweeted a picture of a festive tram (which she incorrectly described as a bus).
“A bus in red with banners to celebrate the 100th anniversary of #CPC,” she wrote.
A bus in red with banners to celebrate the 100th anniversary of founding of #CPC, is now seen at #HongKong streets, which is rare scene as for a long time, local residents in HK have few channels to know more about CPC. It might be the time to change. Pic: via social networks pic.twitter.com/55KQ06wDsk
— Qingqing_Chen (@qingqingparis) June 22, 2021
The photo posted by the reporter looks to have been photoshopped, however. Netizens posted what’s believed to be a picture of the original tram with the same background and passengers inside, but with a different coating.
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“[I]t’s a Photoshop. The headlight is missing and on the right side no brake lights and indicators, but they are there on the left side,” a sharp-eyed Twitter user pointed out.
It is unclear why somebody has appeared to edit a photo of the vehicle when the celebratory trams do, in fact, exist.
On Facebook, a pro-establishment Facebook group called “HK Me and My Motherland” also reposted the photoshopped picture, calling it “beautiful” and asking users to share pictures of the tram if they see it around Hong Kong.
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