<p>Beijing-born Chloe Zhao was scrubbed from Chinese social media on Monday as a nationalist backlash airbrushed out her remarkable achievement of becoming the first woman of colour to win the best director Oscar.</p>.<p>Zhao on Monday became the second woman ever to win the coveted award at the LA ceremony, as her film<em> Nomadland</em> -- about marginalised Americans roaming the west -- bagged best picture and its lead, Frances McDormand, won best actress.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read |</strong> <strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/as-nomadland-wins-big-at-the-oscars-heres-a-look-at-winners-in-key-categories-978627.html" target="_blank">As 'Nomadland' wins big at the Oscars, here's a look at winners in key categories</a></strong><br /><br />But all recent posts containing her name and <em>Nomadland </em>were mysteriously wiped from the Twitter-like site Weibo by Monday noon Beijing time.</p>.<p>Her win was also met with silence by Chinese media.</p>.<p>Initially hailed by state media for her film's success at the Golden Globes in March, Zhao became the target of a nationalist backlash after social media users dug up years-old interviews in which she appeared to criticise her country of birth.</p>.<p>Chinese cinemas abruptly pulled the film's scheduled release.</p>.<p>Zhao appeared to allude to these difficulties in her Oscars acceptance speech, saying, "I've been thinking a lot lately of how I keep going when things get hard".</p>.<p>She also quoted a line from a Classical Chinese poem that translates to "people are fundamentally good at birth" -- a move praised by many Chinese social media users, before the posts were later deleted.</p>.<p>Weibo initially flooded with social media posts praising Zhao on Monday morning, while others decried censorship.</p>.<p>"Chloe Zhao becomes the first Asian diaspora/Chinese female filmmaker to win the best director Oscar in history," wrote an entertainment blogger with over 8.9 million followers, in a post that gained thousands of likes before it was deleted.</p>.<p>"China's public opinion control is outrageous. After Chloe Zhao's starling Oscars win, there is not even a fart on Weibo," wrote an outraged user.</p>.<p>Despite the censors' efforts, on the streets of Beijing pride in an Asian director reaching the apogee of US cinema was easy to find.</p>.<p>"She's the pride of Chinese people... it's very rare for a Chinese to get an Oscar award," Yan Ying, a female engineer, told AFP on Monday morning.</p>.<p>"I think Chinese movies will get better and better and she will set a very good example for Chinese mainland directors," said 38-year-old legal worker Yuan Min.</p>.<p>Zhao is also well-known in China as the stepdaughter of famous actor Song Dandan.</p>
<p>Beijing-born Chloe Zhao was scrubbed from Chinese social media on Monday as a nationalist backlash airbrushed out her remarkable achievement of becoming the first woman of colour to win the best director Oscar.</p>.<p>Zhao on Monday became the second woman ever to win the coveted award at the LA ceremony, as her film<em> Nomadland</em> -- about marginalised Americans roaming the west -- bagged best picture and its lead, Frances McDormand, won best actress.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read |</strong> <strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/as-nomadland-wins-big-at-the-oscars-heres-a-look-at-winners-in-key-categories-978627.html" target="_blank">As 'Nomadland' wins big at the Oscars, here's a look at winners in key categories</a></strong><br /><br />But all recent posts containing her name and <em>Nomadland </em>were mysteriously wiped from the Twitter-like site Weibo by Monday noon Beijing time.</p>.<p>Her win was also met with silence by Chinese media.</p>.<p>Initially hailed by state media for her film's success at the Golden Globes in March, Zhao became the target of a nationalist backlash after social media users dug up years-old interviews in which she appeared to criticise her country of birth.</p>.<p>Chinese cinemas abruptly pulled the film's scheduled release.</p>.<p>Zhao appeared to allude to these difficulties in her Oscars acceptance speech, saying, "I've been thinking a lot lately of how I keep going when things get hard".</p>.<p>She also quoted a line from a Classical Chinese poem that translates to "people are fundamentally good at birth" -- a move praised by many Chinese social media users, before the posts were later deleted.</p>.<p>Weibo initially flooded with social media posts praising Zhao on Monday morning, while others decried censorship.</p>.<p>"Chloe Zhao becomes the first Asian diaspora/Chinese female filmmaker to win the best director Oscar in history," wrote an entertainment blogger with over 8.9 million followers, in a post that gained thousands of likes before it was deleted.</p>.<p>"China's public opinion control is outrageous. After Chloe Zhao's starling Oscars win, there is not even a fart on Weibo," wrote an outraged user.</p>.<p>Despite the censors' efforts, on the streets of Beijing pride in an Asian director reaching the apogee of US cinema was easy to find.</p>.<p>"She's the pride of Chinese people... it's very rare for a Chinese to get an Oscar award," Yan Ying, a female engineer, told AFP on Monday morning.</p>.<p>"I think Chinese movies will get better and better and she will set a very good example for Chinese mainland directors," said 38-year-old legal worker Yuan Min.</p>.<p>Zhao is also well-known in China as the stepdaughter of famous actor Song Dandan.</p>