China’s Hong Kong-hating fangirls are fêted by Beijing
Large pockets of China’s youth are rising up to defend their country against what they perceive as mistreatment and misrepresentation
Hong Kong — For Li Mo, the footage of black-clad people clashing with police and vandalising storefronts proved the final straw. The images of Hong Kong protesters fighting for greater autonomy from Beijing incensed the mainland-born postgraduate student and she could no longer remain on the sidelines. So, she joined China’s fangirl army.
Ever since anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong turned violent this summer, China’s celebrity-obsessed young generation have patrolled Facebook, Twitter and Weibo, ready to pounce on perceived slights and defend their motherland. Nicknamed “fangirls” because they exhibit the same fervour most often reserved for pop-culture icons, these women and men flood social media with slogans and memes shaming brands — sometimes with far-reaching consequences...
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