“Vicious Ideology”: Marine’s Video Rant Against China Now Focus Of Chinese State Reporting

The 20-year old Marine currently under military investigation for his half-minute Twitter video wherein he rants against China, blaming the country for coronavirus and threatening to shoot Chinese people which was posted this week is now subject of widespread Chinese media reporting.

This will likely create even bigger legal problems under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for Colorado native Jarrett Morford, who made the video at his training base in Twentynine Palms, California. 

The clip which is filled with racial expletives deriding Chinese people is now being upheld by Chinese state media’s top English-language mouthpiece as an example of Trump’s and America’s “vicious ideology” and “hatred” preached to the Chinese people:

What a vicious ideology that spurs such hatred for Chinese people from a young US soldier. Trump and the US political elites who preach that China should be held responsible for the pandemic have created this ideology. It’s a shame for the US as a democratic country. pic.twitter.com/6xyLklJfko

— Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) October 10, 2020

Hu Xijin is the highly visible editor-in-chief of China’s communist government-owned Global Times. Thus the video now appears to be factoring in to worsening Sino-US relations, as if anything else was needed for the continued downward spiral which includes military tensions in the region. 

“What a vicious ideology that spurs such hatred for Chinese people from a young US soldier,” Xijin wrote on Twitter Saturday. “Trump and the US political elites who preach that China should be held responsible for the pandemic have created this ideology. It’s a shame for the US as a democratic country.”

PFC Morford made the video while in uniform. “As the honorable Trump said on Twitter today, it was China’s fault,” the young Marine said. “China is going to pay for what they’ve done to this country and the world. I don’t give a f–k!”

Marine IDed in racist video threatening to shoot ch*nks

Accused of using racial slurs and threatening to shoot Chinese after quoting Trump that China would be made to pay for the coronavirus. https://t.co/3AckqoWx4H pic.twitter.com/a3vwfEQs1Y

— AsAmNews (@AsAmNews) October 9, 2020

And further, the Marine said in the video:

“If a ch*nk headed mother f*cker comes up to me when I’m in the fleet, say 556 b*tch. That’s all I gotta say. Say 556,” he is heard saying on Twitter.

556 reportedly refers to the 5.56 bullets used in firearms such as the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.

On Thursday the Marine Corps announced an investigation is underway and that “appropriate action” would would be taken. “There is no place for racism in the Marine Corps,” a Marine statement to Stars and Stripes said. “Those who can’t value the contributions of others, regardless of background, are destructive to our culture and do not represent our core values.”

Now it appears the stakes are higher, given we’ve entered the domain of international incident and angry denunciations out of Beijing.