China must avoid Europe’s mistakes and stand up against rising extremism

The ultranationalist comments on Chinese social media in the wake of an attack on a Japanese school bus highlight a worrying trend

Ziang Liu

Published: 9:30am, 4 Jul 2024

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As many major world economies struggle, some people are turning to the far-right. Europe, which recently commemorated the 80th anniversary of D-Day, has seen support for far-right parties growing across the continent. Meanwhile, ultranationalism is boiling over on Chinese social media amid an attack on a Japanese school bus in Suzhou last week.

The extremism is so worrying that Chinese tech companies such as Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, Douyin and Bilibili have clamped down on extreme nationalist comments on their platforms. As the world drifts further to the right, how far will China’s ultranationalism go?

On June 24, a man armed with a knife attacked a bus used by a Japanese school in Suzhou. Two Japanese citizens at the bus stop were injured while Hu Youping, a Chinese woman who intervened to stop the attack, later died from the injuries she sustained. Chinese authorities called the attack an “isolated incident”.

Chinese social media is increasingly filled with sentiments imbuing xenophobia with patriotism.

The construction of nationalism in contemporary China involves memories of national humiliation and suffering dating back to the Opium Wars. Here, the government assumes a paternal role, acting as the gatekeeper and final arbiter of social expectations.

One example is the contentious clause included in a draft amendment to Article 34 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law. The clause proposed fines and time in detention for wearing or forcing others to wear “clothing or symbols harmful to the spirit … or the feelings of the Chinese nation”. It was dropped from a revised draft last month after being deemed too subjective and open to misinterpretation.

02:30

Wartime Shanghai battleground becomes a symbol of Chinese nationalism

In the era of social media, it is no surprise that patriotism has become a dependable source of internet traffic and profit. It can even pressure local governments to act on specific incidents. For instance, an advertisement celebrating the Lunar New Year in an underground tunnel in Nanning was removed in January after internet users claimed it contained elements resembling the Japanese rising sun flag.

That same month, a blogger posted a video saying red circular decorations at a shopping centre in Nanjing resembled the rising sun flag, leading to local police demanding the decorations be removed. In the wake of a powerful earthquake on Japan’s Noto peninsula on January 1, a Hainan TV anchor called the earthquake “retribution” on his personal Douyin account. The anchor was initially suspended for his inappropriate comments but was reinstated in February.

Such views might be in the minority but still resonate on the internet. Online voices can fuel the spread of extreme ideas despite being out of step with the majority, and this keyboard ultranationalism can have real-life consequences.

In August 2022, a young Chinese woman wearing a kimono was detained by police in Suzhou for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”. A year later, a middle-aged woman in Chengdu confronted young people in cosplay costumes at a shopping centre, asserting that any patriot would despise them. The cosplayers were wearing outfits from Genshin Impact, a video game made by Shanghai-based studio miHoYo; one of them was injured after being shoved to the ground by the woman.

Last September, several young people wearing hanfu were mistaken for wearing kimono and ejected from a park in Wuhan. In April this year, two young women filming a dance video in Chongqing while wearing kimono were stopped by a group of elderly people and accused of being Japanese spies, leading to a physical altercation.

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Chinese woman detained by police for wearing kimono in public

This is in addition to online ultranationalists accusing Chinese drinks giant Nongfu Spring of being pro-Japanese earlier this year. Under the banner of the moral high ground, extreme sentiments are being legitimised, politicising daily life.

The worst possible outcome of this overheated rhetoric has been realised. The attack in Suzhou took a life, and hatred continues to erupt on the internet.

I do not want to package my sorrow for Hu Youping in grand narratives of national righteousness. I see many Hu Youpings in everyday life, with ordinary people showing their utmost humanity in times of danger.

If this frenzy continues, its targets will go beyond foreigners. People tend towards more conservative beliefs in challenging economic times, blaming their struggles on those who look and sound different.

We must not repeat the mistakes of those in Europe who ignored the terrifying xenophobia of the 1930s and cheered on the Blackshirts while stoking the flames of hatred. It is time for the silent majority to stop being silent and say no to extremism.

Ziang Liu is a researcher from the London School of Economics