Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 02:08, 13 October 2020

The Milk Tea Alliance is an online democratic solidarity movement made up of netizens from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand. It originally started as an Internet meme, arisen in response to the increased presence of Chinese trolls and nationalist commentators on social media.

Background

In early April 2020, Thai actor Vachirawat “Bright” Cheeva-aree, whose TV drama 2gether has been popular in China, reposted an image on Twitter which listed Hong Kong as a "country." Chinese internet commentators took offense, denounced him, and called for a boycott of his show. Bright subsequently apologized and took the image down, but Chinese netizens also discovered a post by his girlfriend from 2017 which insinuated that Taiwan was an independent country, thus furthering the controversy. The Chinese embassy in Bangkok posted a long statement on Facebook condemning the online criticism and a fierce digital battle ensued between Thai netizens and the Chinese embassy. Thai netizens took to social media and defended Bright with their criticism turning into more generalized criticism of the Chinese government, launching a Twitter war with the hashtag #nnevvy. Within Thailand, support for Hong Kong and Taiwan's pro-democracy movement has unified the disparate groups of protesters with anti-Beijing sentiment becoming a part of its platform.

Some Twitter users from Taiwan and Hong Kong then soon joined Thai users in what British-based newspaper The Telegraph called "a rare moment of regional solidarity". An article by American media company OZY described the Milk Tea Alliance taking on the supposed 50 Cent Party and Little Pink as "Asia's volunteer army rising against China’s internet trolls."

Timeline

In the following months, the Milk Tea Alliance has evolved from being an anti-Beijing meme into a "leaderless protest movement pushing for change".

• Following the 2020 China–India skirmishes, India has also been included in some formulations of the Alliance with masala chai being their representative variety of milk tea.

• In August 2020 renewed pro-democracy protests in Thailand, its largest anti-government protests since the 2014 military coup, drew support and solidarity from Taiwanese and Hong Kongers like Joshua Wong. The hashtag #MilkTeaAlliance was heavily used by protesters.

• Since the 2020 Belarusian protests broke out in August after the opposition and international monitors said it wasn’t a fair presidential election in the country, some internet activists from Asia began to include Ryazhenka, a traditional fermented milk product drink of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, in the Milk Tea Alliance as a way for Belarusians to push back against the government of Alexander Lukashenko, as well as the Union State relationships between Russia and Belarus.

Name

Milk tea is seen as a symbol of solidarity by because in many Asian countries tea is historically consumed with milk. Hong Kong-style milk tea, Taiwanese bubble tea, and Thai tea are all local variations of milk tea with strong similarities.

See also

• Pan-Asianism
• Overseas censorship of Chinese issues
• Wolf warrior diplomacy

References

1. Tanakasempipat, Patpicha. "Young Thais join 'Milk Tea Alliance' in online backlash that angers Beijing". mobile.reuters.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
2. Bunyavejchewin, Poowin. "Will the 'Milk Tea War' Have a Lasting Impact on China-Thailand Relations?". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
3. McDevitt, Dan. "'In Milk Tea We Trust': How a Thai-Chinese Meme War Led to a New (Online) Pan-Asia Alliance". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
4. Lau, Jessie. "Why the Taiwanese are thinking more about their identity". www.newstatesman.com. New Statesman. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
5. Chan, Christina. "Milk is thicker than blood: An unlikely digital alliance between Thailand, Hong Kong & Taiwan". hongkongfp.com. Hong Kong Free Press. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
6. ^ Chen, Heather. "Milk Tea Alliance: How A Meme Brought Activists From Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand Together". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
7. Smith, Nicola (3 May 2020). "#MilkTeaAlliance: New Asian youth movement battles Chinese trolls". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
8. Munsi, Pallabi (15 July 2020). "The Asian Volunteer Army Rising Against China's Internet Trolls". OZY. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
9. ^ Deol, Taran. "'We conquer, we kill': Taiwan cartoon showing Lord Rama slay Chinese dragon goes viral". theprint.in. The Print. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
10. Patpicha, Tanakasempipat; Chow, Yanni. "Pro-Democracy Milk Tea Alliance Brews in Asia". www.usnews.com. US News and World Report. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.

v t e Cross-strait relations
Diplomatic posts	Hong Kong Economic, Trade and Cultural Office (Taiwan) Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong Macau Economic and Cultural Office (Taiwan) Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Macau
Diplomacy	Opening of the South-North route Restoration of Taiwan strait shipping Kinmen Agreement Wang–Koo summit Cross-strait charter 2004 Taiwanese cross-strait relations referendum May 17 Statement 2005 Pan–Blue visits to mainland China Cross-strait high-level talks First Chen–Chiang summit Second Chen–Chiang summit Fourth Chen–Chiang summit Fifth Chen–Chiang summit Sixth Chen–Chiang summit Seventh Chen–Chiang summit Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement Cross-Strait CEO Summit Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement Jinjiang–Kinmen Pipeline 2014 Wang–Zhang meetings 2015 Xi–Chu meeting Ma–Xi meeting Straits Forum Shanghai-Taipei City Forum Second Ma–Xi meeting
Conflicts	Chinese Civil War Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War Retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan Guanbi policy First Taiwan Strait Crisis Project National Glory Battle of Dong-Yin Battle of Dongshan Battle of East Chongwu Second Taiwan Strait Crisis Third Taiwan Strait Crisis Senkaku Islands Dispute
Incidents	Capture of the Tuapse Kashmir Princess United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations CAAC Flight 296 China Airlines Flight 334 1987 Lieyu massacre Min Ping Yu No. 5540 incident Min Ping Yu No. 5202 1990 Guangzhou Baiyun airport collisions Qiandao Lake incident China Airlines Flight 611 Sunflower Student Movement Braga incident Anti-Black Box Curriculum Movement Wang Liqiang Freedom pineapples 2021 Solomon Islands unrest Chinese military exercises around Taiwan 2022 2023 2024 2024 Kinmen Chinese motorboat capsizing incident
Legislation	Cross-Strait Act Proposed National Unification Promotion Law Anti-Secession Law Anti-Infiltration Act
Organizations	All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots Alumni Association of Huangpu Military Academy Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification Cross-Straits Common Market Foundation Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum Cross-Strait Peace Forum Grand Alliance for China's Reunification under the Three Principles of the People Lienchiang Cross-Strait Matters Forum Mainland Affairs Council National Unification Council Straits Exchange Foundation Taiwan Affairs Office Taiwan Competitiveness Forum Taiwan Strait Tourism Association
Concepts	1992 Consensus China Circle Chinese unification Chinese nationalism Chinese irredentism Chinese Taipei Cross-Strait Economic Zone Dang Guo Four Noes and One Without Greater China Han chauvinism One China One-China policy One Country on Each Side One country, two systems Propaganda in China Cross-strait propaganda Republic of China on Taiwan Self-determination Socialist ideology of the Kuomintang Socialism with Chinese characteristics Special non-state-to-state relations Six Assurances Taiwan, China Two Chinas Three Noes Three Links Taiwan consensus Taiwan independence movement Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan United front in Taiwan Under the Roof of One China Xi Jinping Thought Zhonghua minzu
Related	Fujian–Taiwan relationship Hong Kong–Taiwan relations Hong Kong–Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council Taiwan–Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council Hong Kong and Kowloon Trades Union Council Pro-ROC camp Chinese Travel Document Taiwan Entry Permit Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Resident Cross-strait language database ECFA Debate HMS Aurora (12) China and the United Nations China and the World Bank Chinese intelligence activity abroad Chinese information operations and information warfare Chinese Soviet Republic Freedom of religion in China Foreign relations of China Timeline of diplomatic relations with China Political status of Taiwan Foreign relations of Taiwan Opinion polling on Taiwanese identity Timeline of diplomatic relations with Taiwan Geostrategy in Taiwan Anti-Communist Hero Milk Tea Alliance Taishang G3 Beijing–Taipei Expressway G99 Taiwan Ring Expressway China National Highway 228 (Taiwan) Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama The World Turned Upside Down Go and Reclaim the Mainland Pro-Republic of China
Category:Cross-strait relations

• Milk tea
• Tea in Asia
• Anti-Chinese sentiment in Asia
• Internet culture
• Internet-based activism
• Political movements in Asia