Does this video show Chinese citizens spraying mineral water into the ocean to purify Fukushima-treated water? No, that's not true: Releasing mineral water is one of many Buddhist practices regularly observed in China.
The claim originated from a video (archived here) published on TikTok by @kiraku_japan on September 12, 2023. The caption and text overwritten in Korean on the video reads, as translated by Lead Stories staff:
Actual Situation.
Depiction of Chinese people spraying mineral water into the sea to purify and neutralize pollution from Fukushima-treated water.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Nov 20 17:37:13 2023 UTC)
The claim went viral on social media platforms like Twitter and Douyin. Similar footage containing the same group of people went viral on Twitter with over two million views. This is what the post looked like on Twitter (archived here) at the time of writing:
(Source: Twitter screenshot taken on Mon Nov 20 17:40:13 2023 UTC)
The caption in Japanese on the video reads, as translated by Lead Stories staff:
Apparently, they want to neutralize Fukushima's treated water by spraying mineral water.
However, a South China Morning Post article (archived here) and video refer to this practice as "Fang sheng," or "life release to nature" in English, which is one of many Buddhist practices. The video was filmed in the Shandong province in eastern China, and the article stated the ritual was also carried out in the Guangdong province in southern China.
The activity even sparked controversy online as netizens raised concerns over waste and water quality. Local water authorities ultimately investigated and found no abnormalities in the water after people poured mineral water in Shandong province.
On September 10, 2023, a group in Guangdong province also released mineral water into the sea. A video on Douyin (archived here) showed similar footage to the TikTok video, with text overwritten, as translated by Lead Stories Staff:
On September 10, a group of people released more than 60 boxes of mineral water into the sea at Donggang, Shanwei Lake in Guangdong. The town government will send a law enforcement team to verify.
This is what the post looked like on Douyin at the time of writing:
(Source: Douyin screenshot taken on Mon Nov 20 17:42:13 2023 UTC)
The town government released a statement in response to confused individuals, and explained the town is close to the fishing area and the release of tap water is a custom of worshipping Buddhism's Hungry Ghost Festival.
