HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - For Ms 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.. Read more at straitstimes.com.
HONG KONG - For Ms 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.
They triggered boycotts of brands from Coach to Apple. Many got swept up by Facebook and Twitter account takedowns. And in a recent incident, the onslaught of vitriol they directed at Hong Kong pop-star Joey Yung forced her to apologise for a single Facebook selfie, but not before she got canned from a high-profile gala.
They show how large pockets of China's youth are rising up to defend their country against what they perceive as mistreatment and misrepresentation by outsiders, and they underscore a growing sentiment that's shaping how China interacts with the world. They're also the latest online patriots to hop the Great Firewall dividing the Internet in mainland China from the rest of the world - with a decidedly millennial twist. They call their nation"Brother Ah Zhong" , describing it as a pop idol who debuted 5,000 years ago and now boasts a fan base of 1.4 billion.
Participants are charged with spawning content for the group's main Weibo account. One of their latest productions is a three-minute video showcasing protester violence in Hong Kong, from setting a man on fire to ganging up on a police officer and trying to snatch his pistol. Their motivations are widely misunderstood, said Mr Zak Dychtwald, author of Young China: How the Restless Generation Will Change Their Country and the World. English-language media writing off Chinese pride as a product of propaganda and brainwashing only fans the flames of nationalism, he said.
Fangirls represent another front in social media giants' efforts to curb disinformation campaigns. In August, Twitter suspended nearly 1,000 accounts originating from China, which the company identified as part of a state-backed operation to undermine Hong Kong's protests. Facebook and Google took similar action.
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