Yesterday I opened my MSN messenger (technically my Adium client which I use for MSN IM) to find that the majority of my Chinese friends were all showing "(L)China" as a prefix before their names. Using the (L) will display a little heart on screen, thus showing love to China. While showing support for your country is all well and good, it does make me somewhat nervous that the peaks of Chinese Internet nationalism always seem to center around hatred/anger toward another countries.

Last time it was Japan.

This time, it's France.

In the past few days, Chinese SMS alerts have been on overdrive, calling for a boycott of "all French, English, and American products and services until those westerners stop spreading their hatred of Chinese people and learn to respect the sovereign rights of China over Tibetan province". Gaze over at Commiepod which points out that this number is the same government number that he often receives official notices from.

The boycott I'm hearing the loudest rumblings about though, is that of the French supermarket chain Carrefour. Gatherings outside Carrefour will likely be tolerated despite the fact that the Chinese Government almost never allows organized protests. That is, except when they agree with the cause, as was the case with the 2005 anti-Japan protests.

Of course, none of this is gonna be good for its PR campaign...

Some Netizens are going so far as to boycott all French goods entirely. Global Voices has translated a bunch of Chinese pages, and here's an excerpt of the SMS message which elaborates on the motivation behind the Carrefour boycott:

The Olympic torch relay that just ended in Paris is not as peaceful as
most of Chinese know about. Let's see what French and its Government
have done when Chinese carried the torch, a symbol of peace and
friendship into their territory.

1. Before the relay, a French TV station called on people to protest on
the streets for the reason that they "don't want Chinese flags flaunting all
over".
2. The torch was forced to extinguish for four times under the violent disruptions of Tibet separatists.
3. The French police in charge of security simply stood by to see the
separatists snatching the torch, and striking the disabled torch
carrier.
4. At where the torch went by, hordes of French waved the flag of
separatists, clamoring "Free Tibet", "Shame on China", to protest
against China.
5. Groups of young men even scrambled over the Chinese students'
five-star flags and tore them up, two sides in conflict.
6. When the sacred fire passed by the City Hall of Paris, the banners
and slogans of pro-Tibet independence were hung out and all the
alderman put on the pro-separatism badges, a behavior that made the
planned ceremony there cancelled.
7. The major media in France reviewed the torch relay with such
headlines—-Fiasco in Paris (Figaro) and A Slap on China

Carrefour employs a ton of Chinese people and carries mostly Chinese-produced goods. I can't help but wonder exactly who a boycott like this would hurt most. Online polls are springing up as well, where Chinese people can show their patriotism. I particularly enjoyed this MSN China poll which posed the question: "Do you support the Beijing Olympics?"

Possible answers? A. Strongly yes B. Yes C. I don't know.

I'm not kidding, there really isn't a "NO" option. A bit of comic relief is necessary in times like these, I suppose...

And then there's this online petition against distorted foreign media reports on Tibet. I mean, I'll be the first to admit the Western media is far from perfect. But I believe it was Confucius (or possibly Jesus, I'll have to look it up) who once said: "Let he who is without a biased state media cast the first stone."

Some famous Chinese bloggers are having their say as well, showing that while the Internet climate is extremely nationalist, that there are other points of view which contrast with the common opinion (Surprise, MSN!).

The best boycott is to make yourself really awesome (牛逼); if you're not cool, other people will pick on you. If you boycott someone when they pick on you, you're just pretending to be be great. If you like it, maybe you should go to North Korea where they have only north Korean and Chinese goods.

Using your purchasing habits to demonstrate whether or not you are patriotic, this is really "universal values" with Chinese characteristics.

When you boycott, you are just showing that your target is much stronger than you, that your target is already mixed up in your life. So what the hell have you been doing before now?

I just happen to have some discount coupons for Carrefour. I guess if I go these days, there won't be long queues.

If there is anything I am going to boycott, it's all these stupid idiots [arranging boycotts]. --Wang Xiao Feng, translated by Danwei

Now, with all this garbage flying around, wouldn't this make the case for an Olympic boycott even stronger? Maybe... But consider this piece, by Fareed Zakaria (h/t to CDT):

In these circumstances, a boycott of the Olympics would have precisely the opposite effect that is intended. The regime in Beijing would become only more defensive and stubborn. The Chinese people would rally around the flag and see the West as trying to humiliate China in its first international moment of glory. (There are many suspicions that the United States cannot abide the prospect of a rising China.) For most Chinese, the Games are about the world giving China respect, rather than bolstering the Communist Party's legitimacy.

That said, I'll likely not be posting (L)China on my MSN, but rather something like (L)Everyone--or better yet, as my good friend Tom has done, (L) Pizza & Beer.

 

Wyndham
Level:
Ireland

matthewtan28
Level:

mohammedyawer
Level:

clarejoan
Level:

zaki572
Level:

slockums
Level: