La vie en rougeTRY AS the Communist Party might to sanitise the internet, its people keep coming up with new ways to discuss politics. They have developed colourful slang to express sarcasm, dodge censors and attack their opponents. Their latest invention sounds cute: “little pink”, or xiao fenhong. Its meaning, at least as initially intended, is not so sweet. It is a disparaging term for young nationalists who use the internet as a battleground for patriotism, often focusing on pop culture to whip up support.
The term first started to emerge a few years ago in a popular online chat group called Jinjiang Forum, whose website has a pink background. Its users called it “little pink” out of affection. It was not primarily a political forum, but from time to time political topics surfaced. A small group of contributors came to be known for their nationalism. Outsiders called them “little pink” as an insult, and the phrase soon caught on as a label for nationalistic youth.
To those who detect worrying parallels between Xi Jinping, China’s leader, and Mao Zedong, the...Continue reading
Source: China http://ift.tt/2aE5EG5
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