Can’t Focus on Work Due to Russia-Ukraine Crisis

There is one new word today capturing the mood on Chinese social media in light of the Russia-Ukraine crisis: wū xīn gōngzuò (烏心工作), meaning people are so concerned with what is happening in Ukraine, that they cannot focus on work. The term that became a meme on Chinese social media today is a wordplay on the term wúxīn gōngzuò (無心工作), meaning not being in the mood to work.

With the Russian military operation in Ukraine dominating headlines all over the world, the Russian attack on Ukraine is also a big topic on Weibo and other Chinese platforms. A Weibo topic page dedicated to the latest developments in Ukraine received over two billion views on Thursday (#關註俄烏局勢最新進展#).

News about explosions being heard across the Ukrainian capital of Kiev received over 140 million views (#烏克蘭首都附近發生爆炸#). During the afternoon of February 24th, news came out that Chinese students studying in Ukraine received an urgent message from the embassy in the morning to pack their belongings and to stay put until receiving more information (#在烏留學生收到大使館緊急通知#).

Chinese state media also spread a message telling Chinese citizens in Ukraine to attach a Chinese national flag to their car in case they will drive long-distance. Otherwise, the embassy has advised people to stay inside and keep away from windows, and to stay in touch with local Chinese organizations.

“How quickly war can happen,” some Weibo commenters say, with many others using the hashtag #WuxinGongzuo (#烏心工作#, ‘Can’t Focus on Work due to the Ukrainian Situation’) writing: “It’s really true, we’re all following this news,” and: “I have been constantly focusing on this since morning, I can’t concentrate on work due to the Ukraine situation.”