As resource-rich Mongolia's deepening political crisis showed no sign of ending, a video was shared in posts claiming it showed an official of the landlocked country saying it should "re-integrate" with China. Fabricated subtitles were superimposed on the video, which in fact shows the chairman of an opposition party speaking about corruption and concerns over the economy.
"Mongolian official says that Mongolia itself, just like Inner Mongolia, is part of the Huaxia," reads a simplified Chinese X post shared on October 20, 2025, using a term that refers to the Chinese nation.
The attached video shows a man speaking to the press in Mongolian, overlaid with Chinese-language text that say people in Mongolia and China's Inner Mongolia share the same ancestry. 
The purported subtitles say: "We must re-integrate into our original Huaxia Chinese nation. By doing so, we Mongolian can rely on China to greatly improve people's livelihoods and regional development.
"We need to look into how Hong Kong and Macau returned (to China) and developed better policies. We are already in contact with our Chinese counterparts regarding the plan. It's now time for us to be brave and make a choice."
China is Mongolia's largest trading partner, but tensions and grievances remain over land, culture and language (archived here, here and here).
The video was also shared in similar Douyin, Facebook and TikTok posts, with Chinese social media users praising the purported plan to merge with China. 
"Welcome back. This is a smart decision," read one simplified Chinese comment.
Another said: "This is the most inspiring news report I have ever seen."
It circulated against the background of a deepening political crisis in Mongolia, after weeks of infighting and a dispute over a policy that changed how mineral exporters are taxed (archived link).
Lawmakers voted to remove Prime Minister Gombojav Zandanshatar on October 17, a move that was vetoed by the country's president and ruled invalid by the country's constitutional court.
The landlocked nation has been facing a combustible political cocktail of widespread corruption, rising living costs and concerns over the economy. 
The circulating video, however, contains fabricated subtitles.
The person speaking in the video is Tsogtgerel Odon, chairman of the opposition Democratic Party and a member of parliament (archived link). He does not hold a position in the Mongolian government.
A Mongolian-speaking AFP correspondent said he does not mention China in the video. 
In the video, he says: "The Mongolian People's Party ruled for many years, and yet hid their lies and corruption behind the doors. Today, we are facing many problems, such as teachers and health workers striking, demanding a salary increase, and elders requesting higher pensions. As winter is coming, we're not sure the energy sector will survive.
"I think the current authorities only care about their positions and status, leaving behind the economic situation."
Odon also says Mongolia is "close to stepping into chaos" and parliamentary governance is "in danger".
"Perhaps this political crisis is being made deliberately steering us into this situation. This is not accidental, it is being planned, drawn, staged, and shaped intentionally."
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to similar footage posted on Facebook by Mongolian media outlet  News.mn (archived here and here). Odon's remarks appear at 1:57 mark of the Facebook video.
Other local news outlets, such as ikon and Live TV also made no mention of China in Odon's remark (archived here and here). 
The falsely shared video appears to have been sped up.
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation using fabricated subtitles.

Published Date:2025-11-10