Online Nationalism in China: Weibo reactions to
the detention of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou
Erik Bogerd
Master thesis East Asian Studies, Leiden University
May 15, 2020
Supervisor: Dr. R.J.E.H. Creemers
1
Introduction
This thesis investigates the topic of nationalism in Weibo posts that discuss the detention of Meng Wanzhou, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Huawei. When news came out that she was arrested on December 1, 2018 in Vancouver, on request of the United States, this immediately caused a backlash in China, that was expressed on both official government channels and on the internet. On the Chinese blogging platform Weibo, users started to quickly connect this case with broader nationalist topics, resulting in different types of nationalist reactions. The purpose of this study is to describe how these reactions reflect, create or shape a nationalist discourse.
Nationalism is a notoriously complicated concept with many different dimensions. It is a social phenomenon that is interwoven in society in various ways, in which the internet also plays a role. There are certain differences that cause online nationalism to be not entirely identical to other forms of nationalism. For example, there is a certain degree of anonymity on the internet, which can influence the way in which people express themselves. Moreover, using the internet, the possibilities for distributing messages are many times greater than is the case with non-digital communication, resulting in more possibilities for ordinary people to influence the nationalist discourse. Society and the internet are certainly not separate from one another: there is a connection between people's opinions on the internet and their views in the non-digital world, and group movements on the internet can have consequences for society. Yet, although many conclusions could also apply to nationalism in general, the focus of this research is nationalism within the digital realm.
Within the online sources to research, a further limitation of the scope is necessary, because opinions on Meng’s detention are shared on many platforms that all have their own characteristics. In this thesis, the research will take place on Weibo, for this platform is widely used, which increases representativeness. The platform also predominantly uses text in the comments, although it is also possible to use images and memes. The fact that most comments consist of text makes discourse analysis on a larger scope more feasible. In the past, Weibo has been a website where internet users shared their opinions on events that are related to the nationalism. While discussions of politics still take place, the platform now mainly revolves around social and entertainment content, due to stricter censorship regulations, but also due to the fact that Weibo has a broader audience. This enables researchers to gain more insight in opinions that are shared by a broader group of people.
In addition to defining the scope of the subject, I also had to determine time constraints. Over time, there may be changes in opinions and different groups can dominate the discourse to a greater or lesser extent. As I indicate later in this thesis, there is wide variation in the subject's popularity on
2 Weibo, with large peaks and periods of diminished popularity. For this research, the time scope was set to the period between December 6, when the news was first published, and December 23, when the topic stopped being viral.
Much has already been written about online nationalism in China.1 Themes that are often discussed in this regard are, for example, the relationship between popular nationalism and state nationalism. This involves studying the ways in which some internet users voice opinions that diverge from the official stance of the state, or researching how the state uses nationalism to achieve its goals. This paper takes a different approach: rather than comparing how official government positions and internet users' views differ, this paper will look at different opinions that internet users have from each other. In addition, some of the literature deals with nationalist responses to a particular event, as in this thesis. Some of these events took place some time ago, so the descriptions do not necessarily apply to today's society. Examples include the Belgrade Bombing (1999), the Spy plane collision incident (2001) and the anti-CNN movements (2005). Other scholars describe more recent events, such as the animosity around the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands. In these cases, the existence of the internet provides a new dimension to the expression of nationalist feelings, because of the increased possibility to share one’s opinions.
What is special about the subject in this thesis, is that it is about one person: Meng Wanzhou. This makes it possible to shed some light on the question how membership to a nation works, especially since she has lived in Canada for some time. Consequently, there is a contrast between her as an individual and as a member of the Chinese nation. Simultaneously, it is not only about her as a person, but also about the company Huawei. This also lends itself well to researching nationalism, since Huawei is considered to be China's pride and the spearhead of its national technological advancement. As a result, a link between the nation and the company Huawei is quickly established. Huawei has also become a centerpiece in the US-China trade war, due to international allegations that Huawei equipment could include backdoors that allow the Chinese government to spy on customers. Furthermore, Meng's arrest took place at an important time in the trade war, when both countries imposed tariffs on certain products. Because of the shifting interpretations of the individual component, the company and the nation, this case could show in what ways national identity is formed.
1 See for instance: Breslin & Shen (2010), Cairns & Carlson (2016), Jiang (2012), Lee (2010), Ma (2018), McLaughlin (2008), Pan (2010), Schneider (2018), Qiang (2011), among others.
3 In order to study the ways in which Meng’s national identity plays a role in opinions about her detention, the countries involved and the actions to be taken, I formulated several questions: first of all, I examined people's opinion of the countries concerned, in other words, how the countries of Canada, the US and China are described and how this fits into a larger narrative. Secondly, the question was formulated as to how Meng was described, as a person, as CFO of Huawei, and as a Chinese, in order to gain more insight into how these different layers of her identity coincide or contrast. In so doing, it can be deduced what it means to belong to the Chinese nation, or what elements can cause exclusion from the Chinese identity. Finally, I investigated the ways in which internet users propose to take action, i.e. how nationalism can be converted into actions.
To answer these questions, it was first necessary to organize the posts and make them available offline. For this purpose, I wrote a program that stores the posts in a database. For the analysis of the data I used the method of discourse analysis.
This thesis consists of the following components: in the literature study I give a definition of nationalism and I describe how different sources depict nationalism in China. Moreover, the role of the internet in shaping the nationalist discourse is discussed here, i.e. how the internet has enabled ordinary people in China to participate in this narrative. Furthermore, I describe against which countries nationalist outbursts are usually directed.
After reviewing the literature, I will provide an overview of the relevant events surrounding Meng Wanzhou's arrest, in order to better position the posts in their temporal context. After all, internet users can comment or refer to certain events in their comments, making this background necessary for the analysis.
Next, I describe the methods I used to acquire and analyze data. This mainly includes a description of the numbers and distribution of the posts, an explanation of the program I wrote for saving the data to a database and the ways in which the results were tagged, reflecting the main questions of this thesis, that deal with: the perception of the countries involved, support to Huawei or Meng Wanzhou (or lack thereof) and actions to be taken against the US and Canada.
Subsequently, I use the collected data to answer the main questions of this thesis. As a result, the analysis consists of three parts: First, the attitude of internet users towards the three main countries that are involved, will be examined, namely Canada, the US and China itself. This part answers the question how these countries are described and how this fits into a broader narrative. Secondly, I describe the way in which Meng herself is described, focusing on the aforementioned points: Meng as an individual, as CFO of Huawei and as a Chinese. Finally, I will find an answer to the third question, about nationalistic actions that are suggested in the posts or even carried out.
4 In the conclusion, the research questions will be answered, I discuss the most important results of this research and I indicate how this relates to the existing literature. In addition, there will be a reflection on this research and recommendations for future work on the topic.
5
Literature review
Defining nationalism
Before focusing on nationalism on the internet in China, it is first necessary to describe what properties nationalism entails. In fact, nationalism is rather difficult to define, because of its seeming lack of objective criteria and its variety across the world. According to Anderson (1983), a nation can best be seen as an imagined community in which people may never meet, but still feel connected to one another. The idea of the nation is often connected to certain characteristics, such as having the same language, a defined territory and a shared history, but in fact it is difficult to find these objective criteria, because many countries do not meet them. The idea of nationalism as an imagined community is useful, as it turns the idea of the nation away from an objective entity, defined by a set of objective criteria, and turns it into a discourse.
Schneider (2018) describes nationalism as a network. In my opinion this analogy works well, especially when describing online nationalism, because it focuses on the fact that power does not lie with individuals, but nationalism is created by many actors at the same time. This image of a network reminds of Foucault (1991), who has made a significant contribution to our understanding of power. According to him, power is not with single actors, but rather it is distributed within a discourse. Nationalism can be described in the same way, by focusing on the fact that the meanings of nationalism are created and changed by many people at the same time, who in turn are influenced by these narratives themselves. People both contribute to and are influenced by the discourse at the same time. Certain actors do have more power and influence than others, but it means that the creation of nationalism is dispersed.
Internet in China
This dispersion of power to influence the nationalist discourse is related to the internet. The emergence of the internet caused a significant change in the dissemination of opinions and ideas. Before the internet existed, a large-scale dispersion of ideas was only possible if one had the means to do so, which was only reserved for a small group of people. For instance, broadcasting messages over the radio required broadcasting equipment, and the distribution of papers required the availability of printing equipment and a network for distribution, which in China were usually owned by state actors. Of course, messages could be passed on by word of mouth or distributed in letters, but the number of direct recipients of one particular message is much lower than is the case with radio and newspapers.
6 The internet changed this: it enabled ordinary people to share their opinions to a wider audience, without the need to have these types of resources. This way of distributing messages also differs on another point: it is unaddressed. In other words, it is not known in advance who will eventually read a message after it has been posted. In that respect, it is similar to the newspaper or the radio in the sense that it is not sent to a specific addressee, but rather it is made accessible for people to read. In short, the internet has enabled ordinary people in China to participate in shaping the nationalist discourse (Callahan, 2010).
In China, the number of internet users grew significantly in just a few decades. A few decades ago, only a few people had an internet connection, mostly research centers that had to exchange information. According to statistics by Statista, 804.5 million people in China had access to the internet in 2018, which is around 58% of the total population of China (Statista, 2020). This does not mean that all groups within society contribute to the online discourse on the same scale, for not all groups are online to the same degree: internet usage, for example, is more widespread in urban areas than in rural areas, with Beijing and Shanghai having the highest numbers of internet users. Although access to the internet has also increased in rural areas, it is far below the national average, with internet penetration at 27% in 2017, as opposed to 73% in the cities (CIW, 2018).
Another important difference among internet users is age. Internet use in general is most prevalent among people under the age of 40 (CIW, 2018), but there are also differences across different platforms. For example, Weibo users are rather young, as is indicated in the figure below.
Source: Thomala, 2019
The fact that the majority of Weibo users are younger has implications for the interpretation of the data, as it is possible that young people express nationalism in different ways compared to other
6%
35%
40% 14%
5%
Sina Weibo users per age group, in percentages
7 age groups. Indeed, there are differences between Generation Y, who were born in the 1980s and 90s, and the generations before that in terms of nationalist sentiments. The 1980s were characterized by the spirit of Reform and Opening up, meaning that there was more openness and scope for reform. There were democratization movements of people who had no problem looking to the West for ideas to reform China, eventually culminating in the protests in 1989 on Tiananmen Square.
After 1989, changes took place: the economy improved rapidly and the standard of living rose. Generation Y was used to this economic situation and embraced the consumption of Western goods and the associated lifestyle. At the same time, this generation is more critical of the West and is characterized by an intense pride in China and what it has achieved (Jiang, 2012). In their view, the generation before them was “dangerously romantic and radical” (Gries 2004, pp. 4-5). In short, Generation Y consumes much of Western culture, but also strongly dislikes Western political ideologies. Instead, this generation wants to separate modernization from westernization, and wants China to take its own route instead (Zheng, 1999). Pan supports this view when describing the relationship between the US and China. Consumption of American products and culture is widespread, but at the same time they are extremely critical of US foreign policy, and they do not refrain from sharing this on the internet, especially when China is criticized by others (Pan, 2010).
Online nationalism: top-down or bottom up?
As shown above, popular nationalism is widespread. However, this does not mean that the party does not play any role. In the West, the dominant perception is that nationalism is primarily a means of the Communist Party to legitimize its rule and stabilize its power, after people were accustomed to a better lifestyle, and economic improvement could no longer serve as a way of legitimization. Protests against foreign interference are then described as a result of influence or even brainwashing by the regime, rather than a movement that originates from within the people themselves. This is a rather instrumentalist view, that does not take into account the agency of popular nationalist movements (Ma, 2018). It is true that the government has certain interests in stirring up nationalist sentiment. For example, it can indeed show that it is the sole legitimate leader of China by standing up for the interests of China in the case of foreign actions. Closely connecting nation and party creates a situation where patriotism and party support are inextricably connected. Secondly, it diverts attention away from domestic problems, such as the increased disparity between rich and poor (Jiang, 2012).
However, to say that the party is the only source of nationalism would conceal how nationalist feelings play a role among the people. Different from the dominant Western perception, Chinese generally perceive nationalism as a bottom-up movement, a reflection of the feelings of the Chinese
8 nation, that was humiliated by foreign powers in the past, during the ‘Century of Humiliation’. People feel the need to defend China against harassment of foreign powers and react strongly when China is wronged in their eyes, especially generation Y with its strong sense of pride of China. An example of this is the outrage caused by the territorial conflicts over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands. According to Gries (2004), these types of reactions are also related to the rhetoric of independence from foreign powers and the history of spontaneous anti-imperialist mass movements, which were a characteristic of the turbulent revolutionary times during Mao’s reign.
The problem with describing online nationalism as a strict top-down or bottom-up system, is that it conceals the nuanced and more complex ways in which state nationalism and popular nationalism are interconnected, both sharing the same opinions or influencing each other in more subtle ways. Many nationalist sentiments originate from the people, whereas the government often takes a more passive and reactive stance, knowing that nationalism can be a double-edged sword: on the one hand, the government has to be nationalistic in order to show that they understand the people's feelings and that they represent them. At the same time, there is a chance that nationalist protests and demands spiral out of control, forcing the government to take unwanted actions in order to maintain the trust of the people. In that case, the government sometimes urges the people to practice a more rational form of nationalism (Zhao, 2013; Ma, 2018; McLaughlin, 2008). Censorship can play a role in maintaining control over the situation, by removing messages that send a nationalist movement in an undesirable direction. Xiao Qiang (2011) shows that censorship is not usually used to remove any unwanted opinion, but rather to prevent people from taking collective actions that have the potential to escalate. After all, the internet is also a good way to receive feedback from the people, also where nationalist movements are concerned: it becomes clear how the people react. In these ways, the relationship between state nationalism and popular nationalism is rather complex.
This does not mean that all internet users share the same opinions. They are not members of a monolithic group that functions as a whole. This further complicates the picture: it is not only the case that the people and the party influence each other in complex ways, but there are also group dynamics among the internet users themselves. When there are outbursts of nationalism, the majority appears to have a strong voice and there is little room for other views. Internet users can then choose to participate in these strong nationalist sentiments or, alternatively, to remain silent. People with opinions that differ from those of the majority are then called out for not being nationalistic or even anti-China (Ma, 2018).
9 Targets of nationalism
Nationalist outbursts are often the result of perceived unjust treatment from other countries. This is strongly related to historical circumstances, in particular the narrative of the ‘Century of Humiliation’. In this view, the Chinese nation, once a powerful and mighty state, was extorted by Western colonial powers and Japan, until the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came to power in 1949, who rescued China by making it self-reliant and powerful enough to be able to resist foreign attacks. Many scholars see this narrative as a way for the party to use victimization to stimulate nationalism.2 By having a shared (perceived) history, that is made by actively remembering and forgetting past events, the collective identity is strengthened. Renan (2018) already argued that the collective act of remembering and forgetting shapes the nation. With the ‘Century of Humiliation’ narrative, this involves creating enemies, consciously or unconsciously. Nationalism can target different countries, but three countries are more often the target of nationalist actions and protests than others, namely Japan, Taiwan and the US. Breslin and Shen (2010) argue that these belong to the first layer of enemies.
In the case of Japan, sentiments of resentment are old and date back to the Sino-Japanese War. For China, this defeat came as a shock, beginning a series of humiliations China had to endure from foreign powers. In addition to strengthening anti-Japanese feelings, this also strengthened nationalism. After Japan invaded China during World War II, these feelings intensified. Today, anti-Japanese nationalist protests revolve mainly around perceived whitewashing of Japan’s actions in school history textbooks and territorial conflicts. From time to time, Japanese textbooks change descriptions of World War II and their own role in the war, leading to protests in several East Asian countries, including China. Also, the visits to the Yasukuni Shrine by Japanese prime ministers often trigger all kinds of nationalist reactions, since it is dedicated to soldiers who fell for the Emperor, including several war criminals. In addition, territorial conflicts around the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands also lead to actions, such as a boycott on Japanese products.
The US is also one of the countries against which nationalist actions are taken. In the Korean War, both countries faced each other and after that there have been several incidents that have caused tensions between the two countries. Some notable examples include the Belgrade bombing in 1999, the Spy lane Collision incident in 2001, the anti-CNN protests in 2005 and several territorial disputes between both countries. According to Pan (2010), many Chinese have a double attitude towards the US: on the one hand, there is an admiration for American products and the American lifestyle in general. This includes electronic devices such as the iPhone, but also companies such as Starbucks. On the other hand, there is a strong disapproval of America's foreign policy, especially where issues of sovereignty are concerned. America is seen as a bellicose country that does not
10 hesitate to use force in order to achieve its geopolitical goals and that does not respect the sovereignty of other countries in its drive to impose its own system of values on them. Many Chinese reject the American claim to the universality of certain values and see this rather as egocentric actions to self-centeredness of the US. For instance, according to a survey conducted by Horizonkey, as many as 79% of the Chinese surveyed were against the US invasion of Iraq (Chao, 2003). The fact that the US repeatedly points to violations of human rights in China also causes much dissatisfaction and resentment on the Chinese side. In this matter, the problem is not so much whether this criticism is just or not, but the fact that these comments are made in the first place, about the internal affairs of another sovereign country (Jiang, 2012).
America and Japan are not the only countries with which China sometimes has tensions that result in large-scale online protests, an example being the Olympic Torch Relay in Paris. Pro-Tibetan independence protesters attempted to snatch the torch from the hands of the Chinese torchbearer. A major online outrage towards France ensued, and there were many online calls to boycott Carrefour (Ma, 2018). As a result, protests against Carrefour arose in several places and the government had to calm people down and urge internet users to behave calmly and rationally. The Xinhua News newspaper also published an article that disapproved of the actions of the pro-Tibetan protesters in Paris, but at the same time urged readers not to take extreme actions (McLaughlin, 2008; Gerth, 2003).
In the United Kingdom there were also protests around the Olympic Torch Relay, resulting in online criticism, particularly directed towards the BBC. However, in the case of the United Kingdom, the response was less strong and voices that called for boycotts were less prominent, when compared to France. Since the UK played a role in China’s history and is seen as one of the main aggressors in the Century of Humiliation, it is a country with a longer history of tensions with China, partly due to the possession of Hong Kong until 1997. Nevertheless, they are less often perceived by China as the main culprit than the US. The UK has mainly been criticized for being a close ally of the US. According to this criticism, the UK assumes a rather docile role in this, slavishly following the demands of the US and acting as their running dog (Lee, 2010). According to, Breslin and Shen (2010) the UK is hardly the only country that is for a large part evaluated based on its relationship with the US: it is a recurrent trend in Chinese international relations.
11
Summary of events
On December 1 2018, Meng Wanzhou was arrested by the Canadian police on behalf of the US. Meng is the CFO of Huawei and the founder’s daughter. At that time, the news had not yet been made public, at the request of Meng herself. She had requested a publication ban from the court, which was granted. On December 6, the news was published for the first time, although the official charges were still unknown. The US did, however, mention a violation of a trade ban with Iran as the reason for her arrest. The arrest immediately attracted a great deal of attention from the media worldwide. In addition, it became a trending topic on Weibo overnight, resulting in the largest peak of the entire period. The Chinese foreign ministry also became involved. A spokesperson told reporters: "The detention without giving any reason violates a person's human rights." They also urged the US and Canada to clarify the reasons behind the arrest (BBC, 12-6-2018). The Chinese foreign ministry later said that failure to release Meng will result in serious consequences. Because Huawei is one of the most successful technology companies in China and the biggest telecom company in the world, the conflict is more than just a conflict between a company and a state, reinforcing bilateral tensions between China and Canada and between China and the US.
These events took place just after the G20 meeting on November 30 and December 1 in Buenos Aires, where the US and China agreed that the US would not impose new trade tariffs for 90 days, in order to make further negotiations possible. Furthermore, the US and other countries have accused Huawei of posing a security risk, fearing that 5G technology could be used for spying by the Chinese government.
After six days of detention, Meng was released on bail on December 12, after approval by a Canadian court, that set the bail on 10 million Canadian dollars. Subsequently, she was obliged to wear an electronic ankle tag and was kept under video surveillance 24 hours a day. When the bail was granted, the courtroom, where many Chinese Canadians were present, broke out in applause. The court ruled that Meng should reappear on February 6. During those days, Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat, was detained in China, further intensifying tensions between Canada and China.
Another event that drew some attention in the news and Chinese social media was a diary entry by Meng, circulated by Huawei. Meng said she wrote the entry after receiving mail from a Japanese fan. The entry explains how the writer of the letter said she felt “very sad” when she heard about Meng’s detention, and that she “cannot keep silent any longer”. Meng goes on to mention Huawei’s involvement in post-earthquake disaster relief in Japan and Nepal and also mentions the support she receives from people around the world (Bloomberg News, 12-21-2018).
On January 15, Ren Zhengfei, founder and CEO of Huawei, gave an interview to a selected group of foreign journalists. Usually not eager to talk with the press - only being interviewed three
12 times in his life, it shows that the company was in a crisis situation. The day before, a Canadian national was sentenced to death for partaking in drug smuggling operations, even though he originally received a 15-year sentence before he chose to appeal against that judgement.
Meng has since been in a legal battle in Canadian court, that revolves around the question whether she can be extradited to the US. Her lawyers argue that extradition is not permitted, for the charges on which she was arrested are not punishable by law in Canada, but only in the US. They argue that it must be a criminal offense in both countries, a so-called double criminality. On the other hand, the attorney general of Canada claims that the latter is the case, because it concerns fraud. At the time of writing, the judgement has not been made.
13
Methodology
When news of the arrest first came out on December 6, 2018, it immediately resulted in a large number of posts on Weibo. Because of this high number of posts, it was first necessary to gain insight into the way in which these posts were arranged and how the number of posts varied over time, in order to properly study the data. First, I made an overview of the popularity of the subject per day. Unfortunately, Weibo does not indicate how many results a certain search term returns, so another solution had to be found. An additional difficulty is that Weibo limits the displayed results to 50 pages. Consequently, when the number of results exceeds this number, which is often the case with viral topics, the number of results is unknown. As an alternative, I chose to only include posts in the results that Weibo marks as trending (热门). It is somewhat unclear what criteria Weibo uses for including posts in the trending list. However, by looking at the number of likes, shares and comments, it is clear that these posts receive the most engagement from users. The results of a search query for trending posts are not entirely sorted in order of popularity, date, or another obvious criterion. In other words, the way Weibo’s algorithm works is not entirely clear.
Restricting these search results to a particular date made it possible to create a fairly accurate overview of the topic's popularity per day. Because a page contains on average 18.75 posts (this depends on their length), I could estimate the total number. I counted the number of posts on the last page separately, because this could be any number (how many there were left after filling the other pages). It is possible that the result deviates slightly from the actual figures, but the possible deviation is minimal, resulting in a fairly accurate estimate of the number of trending posts per day. This estimate is visualized in the graph below.
14 When examining the peaks in the graph, one can easily connect them to events. In the period before December 6, there were no trending posts containing the name Meng Wanzhou. On 6 December, there is a considerable spike, with around 650 trending posts. This is the highest number within the entire period that falls within my research. Other important dates are also clearly visible in the graph. For instance, when Meng was released on bail, this also attracted a higher number of reactions. After December 23, the number of viral posts was substantially lower, marking the end of the period that falls within my research.
In order to create an overview of the topics that were discussed by Weibo users, I wrote a program that takes the Weibo posts as an input and extracts the username of the poster, the text, date, number of comments, number of reposts and the number of likes of each post, and saves this to a .json dictionary file. Below each post, Weibo users have the option to write their own comments as a reaction. For clarity reasons, I will refer to the top-level post as ‘original post’ and the replies to these posts as ‘comments’. The comments are the most valuable for my research, because this is the place where ordinary people can express their opinions. The trending original posts, on the other hand, were mostly newspaper articles or statements from government agencies, which also has implications for the direction of the discussions. After all, these companies and agencies that are closely related to the government or are part of the government, are able to set the topic of the discussion for the commenters.
The comments below each original post, with the associated information (the username, text, date and number of likes) were then saved to the database, resulting in a collection of 3565 Weibo posts. To obtain an overview of the discussed topics, I made a frequency list of all comments, from which stop words are excluded. This frequency list is visualized below.
15 In this research, I use the method of discourse analysis, since this makes it possible to study large amounts of texts in relation to their social context. Other linguistic approaches for studying text or texts exist, but many of them are more focused on grammatical analysis of the language, instead of the social context. In addition, by using this approach, one can look at the way meanings are created in and between texts and how communication occurs within a group. The research is qualitative in nature, something that is typical for discourse analysis, for broad and abstract notions such as nationalism are hardly quantifiable.
One of the challenges of online discourse analyses is the sheer number of results. Therefore, I only included original posts that received a large amount of user interaction (likes, comments and shares). After all, my research is about identifying the main themes that occur on Weibo. I then added functionality for tagging the comments to the program, in order to divide them into groups. The tags were based on the results of the frequency list, but were revised later, when new topics appeared from the data. There are several types of tags included: some are about the perception of the countries involved (China, Canada and the US). Others are about expressing support to Huawei or Meng Wanzhou. Lastly, there was a group of tags for comments that suggest all kinds of actions to be taken as a result of the detention. The tags described above were then applied to all comments with 50 likes or more and saved to the database. After all, in this thesis I investigate the main discussions that take place on Weibo and a popularity of 50 likes or more indicates that this is an opinion that is shared by more people.
16
Nationalism: international relations, identity and
taking action
In this section, I will present the findings I found after analyzing the data from Weibo. Firstly, I will discuss the position of the different countries involved. Then, I will proceed by describing the way the nationality of Meng Wanzhou plays a role in the descriptions. Finally, I will discuss the ways in which nationalism can lead to action (or the lack thereof).
Positions of different countries China and Huawei
When analyzing the comments, it is noticeable that people do not seem to draw clear lines between Meng Wanzhou, the company Huawei and the Chinese nation. An attack on Meng is interpreted as an attack on Huawei and therefore on the progress of China as a whole. Huawei is indeed the largest Chinese company connected to telecom, making it of vital importance to the Chinese economy. However, it is somewhat unclear what the relations between the government and the company are. According to Huawei itself, the company is completely independent, as written in one of the answers to the question ‘What is Huawei's relationship with the Chinese government?’ on the Frequently Asked Questions page of their website. The answer states that Huawei is “owned solely by [their] employees’ and that ‘[n]o third parties hold any shares in the company”, including the Chinese government (Huawei, n.d.). Whether this is true, is difficult to determine, because accurate independent sources are few and far between. According to some news sources, links have been found with the Chinese military, but these sources all refer to the same paper written by Christopher Balding and the think tank Henry Jackson. In this paper, it is argued that some of the mid-level technological personnel, whose identities were hidden, have a background in intelligence and the military. According to Huawei, this study was speculative and did not have a solid basis (Kharpal, 2019). Other news sources report funding that allegedly came from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), China’s Security Commission and another branch in the intelligence network. The Times reports that this information was shown by the CIA to Great Britain when it had to decide about 5G technology. Although this information was classified, it was awarded a strong classification of certainty by the CIA (The Times, 2019).
Even though the relationship between Huawei and the Chinese government is somewhat unclear, it is evident that the interests of the Chinese government and Huawei align on certain points. It can be said that Huawei is a spearpoint of Chinese telecom technology and a company that embodies China’s pride. This is also the reason why the lines between Meng, Huawei and China are blurred: an attack on Huawei means an attack on China’s pride, which can be seen in both official rhetoric and in
17 the comments on Weibo. In the comments, this pride and the strong connection between the company and the state is quite apparent. The next question is how Canada and the US fit in this narrative.
Canada
Since the arrest took place in Canada, it comes as no surprise that Canada is often mentioned in the comments. Weibo users describe Canada as a rogue country that arbitrarily arrests people, violating human rights. Some people even fear that it is unsafe for them to travel to Canada in the future. Weibo users hardly express themselves about the reasons why Canada would have taken the decision to arrest Meng. Instead, the country is depicted as rather passive, a country that only aims to fulfil the demands by the US and that does not have its own policies or opinions. In a few different ways, commenters express that they do not perceive Canada as an autonomous country that has sovereignty over its own policies and decisions. A commonly used image is that of a kneeling dog that slavishly obeys every US command.
Canada, this dog, really knows how to kneel down.
2018-12-6 环球时报 [C. 2], 12-6-2018 08:14. 5372 likes
In Mandarin, the word dog is often used in all kinds of curses to indicate that somebody is inferior in some way. It also expresses that somebody does not have their own opinions, but just follows others. Just as well-trained dogs sit and lie down on command, so do these people follow the wishes and opinions of others. These perceived power dynamics between Canada and the US are also expressed in different ways, such as the word henchman (狗腿子). In the Mandarin, the word dog is also included in this word, but it has a slightly different connotation. While calling somebody a dog certainly has a strong negative connotation, the focus lies on being passive and following others. The word henchman is less passive: in this case, Canada is not just passively following the US, but also actively cooperating in its ‘sinister plans’ to bully China, a sentiment that is also expressed in the comment below.
Canada is simply the henchman of the US and the US is just a rogue state from beginning to end. Preceding sanctions were neutral, but now they started beating the drum and hitting Huawei again. In short, the US never changes, we have to remain vigilant. […]
2018-12-6 环球时报 [C. 2], 12-6-2018 08:14. 5372 likes
In the aforementioned ways, the agency and independence of Canada are questioned, with some Weibo users even describing Canada as an extra American state. This does not mean that Canada
18 is not blamed for the arrest: many posts are about the unlawfulness of the arrest and the ways in which the actions of Canada are a violation of human rights. When Weibo users propose different actions to react to this perceived injustice, arresting Canadian citizens in China and boycotting the Canadian company Canada Goose are mentioned, meaning that they do indeed blame Canada as well. What is different with the descriptions of the actions carried out by the US, is that the reasoning behind the actions is not mentioned. The only reason for the Canadian actions that is expressed by the posts, is because the US orders them to do so. Some commenters even feel sorry for Canada, writing that Canada is in a difficult position, since they are forced to carry out US plans, possibly against their own will (2018-12-15 头条新闻).
These descriptions of Canada are reminiscent of the way Lee (2010) describes the Chinese perception of the UK, for both countries are almost exclusively described by their relationship to the US. Unlike the US, Canada is not in the first layer of enemies of China, which reduces animosity to Canada. It is partly expected that the US will be discussed more in this case, as it plays a more direct role in the events, because the arrest takes place at the direct request of the US. It is nevertheless striking that there is virtually no specific criticism directed towards Canada: according to commenters, the reasons for the arrest mainly lie with the US. Like Great Britain, Canada is described here as a docile country that merely follows the wishes of the US. The similarities go even further: Lee shows that Great Britain is regularly described as a dog, which is exactly the same image that is used here repeatedly. The theory of two layers of enemies, as proposed by Breslin and Shen (2010), describes these differences in reactions vis-à-vis Canada and the US rather accurately.
The US
On the other hand, based on the comments, the US is seen as the real culprit in the story. The word America, or one of its versions (美帝, 美国佬, 老美 etc.) even appears more often in the database than Canada, with 570 and 479 times respectively. When the US is mentioned, people often argue that they do not have the jurisdiction to decide on the fate of Meng or Huawei, for Meng is not an American citizen and can as such not be brought for an American court. The comments reflect the feeling that the US impose their laws and regulations on people they do not have jurisdiction over. This, then, is quickly connected to the notion that the US see themselves as the police of the world, who try to ensure that everybody follows their rules. Unsurprisingly, this occasionally leads to clashes, with China stressing its own sovereignty and the US regularly criticizing China for its perceived human rights violations. Following the events that occurred on Tiananmen Square in 1989, the US have incessantly pointed out that China lacks many basic human rights, by introducing a resolution to the UN Commission on Human Rights every year. Some of these topics are the impossibility of political
19 dissent and the treatment of Tibetans and Uyghurs. These topics are also mentioned when political visits between both countries are planned.
For China, with its strong focus on national sovereignty and strong disapproval of states ‘meddling’ in other countries’ internal affairs, these continuous reminders are problematic and perceived with distrust. While they recognize that there might be some problems in China as well, these should be solved internally and should not be addressed by the US or other Western countries, because the notion of sovereignty is very important, something that can also be seen in Chinese diplomacy.
According to many comments, the US should not only stop acting as the police of the world by enforcing others to follow their own standards, but they should also look at their own human rights infringements. By many commenters, the arrest of Meng Wanzhou is seen as not based on any law, but essentially politically motivated. Calling the US a ‘rogue country’, they perceive a strong hypocrisy when China is blamed for human rights infringements and the US itself is responsible for such injustice. In this way, the US only selectively brings up the issue of human rights, when other countries are concerned. What is more, many commenters see this as a strategy for reaching America’s own political and economic goals abroad. Although many Americans might regard this notion of universal human rights in an idealist way (to improve the world), this is seen very differently in China, who call it a type of diplomacy, an instrument for their own economic gain (Qi, 2005). This same argument can also be seen around the arrest of Meng Wanzhou, as I will discuss next.
The reason for the arrest is also stated. Many see it as a result of jealousy because of Chinese technological and economic progress. In addition, connections are being made with other companies that have previously had legal cases in the US. In this way, Huawei falls into a series of incidents, with the telecom companies ZTE and JD as precedents. This feeling that the arrest fits in a larger scheme of bullying by the US is exemplified in comments such as the one below.
Seeing such news, people of any country will feel angry This is a humiliation for the Chinese nation. From ZTE to Huawei, if the freedom and security of citizens of our country can’t be protected, this is terrible. At the same time, it threatens Chinese investment abroad. Who still
dares to go to Canada or the US? And our country, you must take strong action.
They have to mind their own business and not only release her, but also apologize.
2018-12-6 环球时报 [C. 13], 12-6-2018 08:46. 380 likes
The Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment manufacturing company ZTE was also accused of violating trade bans with Iran and with North-Korea as well, by exporting equipment
20 to both countries. The company pleaded guilty in March 2017, and had to pay a hefty fine of 1.19 billion USD, the largest fine for export violations at that time (Lamp, 2018). A year later, the US department of Commerce banned U.S. companies from cooperating with ZTE, because of failure to address the issues within the company. This was a major blow to the company, that relied heavily on U.S. software and hardware such as Android and Qualcomm. In fact, it could no longer produce phones when these parts were not available. ZTE was quickly seen as the first casualty from the Trade War, which can also be seen in the posts that I collected.
Jingdong (JD) is mentioned as another casualty for the U.S. to reach their economic goals, although the company is mentioned much less. This probably has to do with the fact that the case is quite different from ZTE and Huawei. Jingdong is a large online retailer, whose CEO Richard Liu was arrested in the U.S. on rape accusations. He was released from custody being charged or paying bail and flew to China immediately.
Not only did commenters make connections with American actions against other companies, especially ZTE, but also with the 5G discussion that had been going on around that time. In multiple countries, the US included, governments asked themselves the question if they should exclude Huawei from building 5G networks, since there are concerns that these networks could be used by the Chinese government for spying purposes, because of the rather tight connection between Huawei and the Chinese government. As a result, many countries barred the company from the 5G network or parts of it. Commenters on Weibo saw this as another way to bully China and to halt its progress. This, then, was done out of jealousy, because the US cannot accept that a Chinese company has better technology than their own companies.
Because Huawei has taken the lead with 5G, the United States can only do so much, by giving money they got from punishing ZTE to Australia and the United Kingdom, forcing its companions to abandon Huawei equipment!
2018-12-6 头条新闻 [C. 5], 12-6-2018 08:07. 5757 likes
In short, China is viewed as the victim of neo-imperialist actions, a line of thought closely related to the narrative of the Century of Humiliation, which also emphasizes China's victim role. In this respect, it is important to realize that Generation Y, the group that mainly uses Weibo, usually exhibits intense proud of China and does not accept criticism from other countries, something that can clearly be seen in the above. Although the Century of Humiliation was initially mainly linked to the need to strengthen and modernize the country, this is less the case here. Huawei in particular is a sign of modernity and the criticisms and actions are therefore seen more as jealousy of China’s accomplishments. This history of humiliation narrative is accompanied by a strong emphasis on independence and sovereignty.
21 Detention of Meng Wanzhou: detention of a compatriot?
In the above, I described the vision of the different countries involved. National identity is closely related to this. As a result of nation-building efforts, China is a country with a strong collective identity, meaning that members of the Chinese nation strongly identify as Chinese and that being Chinese is an important part of identity. Nationalism can function as a way to obscure internal differences within the group, since the overarching identity is more important. Group identities become even stronger when outsiders are involved, especially when they are seen as enemies. In that case, an us-versus-them situation can arise.
These mechanisms are also noticeable in the posts, since many posters describe the detention of Meng Wanzhou in terms of national identity: she is not perceived as merely the CFO of a company, but as a member of the Chinese nation, who is also the CFO of a Chinese company. Many posts describe the detention as an action committed by the US as part of a plan against China as a whole. In other words, the connection between Meng Wanzhou as an individual and the Chinese identity, is made immediately. This connection is also visible in official statements from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, when the US and Canadian ambassadors were summoned, saying that the actions “will definitely have serious consequences, and the Canadian side will have to bear the full responsibility for it” when Meng is not released. This would only happen if the Chinese nation is in some way attacked.
In addition, many posters declare that they will support Meng, but immediately after, they add Huawei and China. From this it can be concluded that supporting Meng and supporting China is conflated into one action.
Support Huawei, support the motherland!
2018-12-6 头条新闻 [C. 236], 12-8-2018 08:33. 156 likes
When the only important criterion of comparison is nationality, everybody in China should feel empathy with Meng, because she is a compatriot. This also means that internal divisions within China are obscured: differences between people are less important than the national identity.
Therefore, it was interesting to see how commenters reacted when her nationality or national allegiance was questioned by some Weibo users. The US Department of Justice mentioned in a letter at the bail hearing that Meng has used at least seven passports, four of the People’s Republic of China and three of Hong Kong, over 11 years. Eventually, this news also reached Weibo, with some people wondering how this was possible. Most people who raised questions about her passports mainly wanted to know how this was possible, and if this was legal in China, but did not connect any results
22 to this question. In other words, the possession of multiple passports was peculiar to them, but they did not write about the consequences this news had on their opinion. Others, however, went further, wondering why China should help her when she apparently wants another nationality. Some of the posts were as follows:
Somebody from China, who bought houses abroad, and who doesn’t necessarily have the Chinese nationality. Who can explain why this is? Why would someone turn one’s back on their motherland?
2018-12-10 大公報-大公網 [C. 27], 12-12-2018 14:21
Somebody who doesn’t even want the nationality of her own country, should that country want her?
2018-12-10 环球时报 [C. 181], 12-10-2018 18:16
Simultaneously, the status of Hong Kong was discussed when Carrie Lam, a Chief Executive of Hong Kong, declared that Meng did have multiple Hong Kong passports, but that at any time, only one of them was valid. Hong Kong is consistently seen as a part of China, as pointed out by multiple Weibo-users. Nevertheless, the Hong Kong passport results in some questions regarding her loyalty and allegiance to Mainland China. Although these voices did not predominate the comment section, they were present enough to claim that these opinions do have some influence within the entire narrative.
This influence is apparent in the reactions. In the comment sections of some of the posts, a division is visible between different opinions. The majority, or at least the most liked comments, show support for Meng and Huawei. They stress that Meng is Chinese, and should as such be supported. Some of them write that the questions about the possession of multiple passports and about her nationality are only meant to cause division among the Chinese. Some even go so far as to describe people voicing these opinions as keyboard warriors who are paid to write those comments. Multiple posts contain colorful language directed towards this perceived group of ‘traitors’ or they write that they want to report them as spies, if only they could find out their real names.
In the comment section, a lot of people use the same words to address the question of nationality. Is this coming from the same group? Do you make a lot of money??? I wonder if they are genuinely stupid, or ignorant
2018-12-12 黄刚 [C. 16], 12-12-2018 17:37. 328 Likes
Suggesting that commenters might be paid by the US, is also an effective way of avoiding the necessity to address the argument itself, by suggesting that the posts should not be taken seriously. At the same time, this shows that as a Chinese you cannot have the opinion that Meng should not be
23 supported. Apparently, this is only possible when people are paid for these comments. The argument seems to be that this would otherwise not be possible.
In the section above, I showed that lack of support is related to unclarity around her nationality. This phenomenon supports the idea that supporting Meng is related to nationalism. In other words, her arrest and need for support are seen as depending on her Chinese citizenship or loyalty to the Chinese nation.
Wealth
These questions regarding Meng’s nationality were not the only ones that caused a lack of support from some people. In other cases, the idea that Meng should be supported is undermined by focusing on her wealth. On December 9, Hu Xijin, a Chinese journalist working for the Global Times, released a video on Weibo with the call to support Meng and to feel sorry for her. As before, a considerable number of users agreed with this message and expressed their support, with messages such as the one below.
I support and feel sorry for Huawei, for Ren Zhengfei, for Meng Wanzhou and for China's outstanding private enterprises and entrepreneurs!
2018-12-9 湖头条新闻 [C. 4], 12-09-2018 23:27. 640 Likes
At the same time, many commenters expressed that they do not see the necessity to support her, since she is very rich herself. These are some of the more popular reactions that express this idea.
Feeling sorry, why do we have to feel sorry? She has two mansions in Canada, her family (son and husband) are all in Canada. Why feel sorry? What do you want us to feel sorry for? The life of misery in Canada? If you think it isn’t good, then just come back! Citizens of the motherland are waiting for you!
2018-12-9 湖头条新闻 [23], 12-09-2018 23:22. 162 Likes
We small commoners don’t even have a permanent residence, or we have to carry a heavy home loan, but you want us to feel sorry for somebody who has multiple passports, whose child has an American education, who has two villas in Canada and whose father has 3.5 billion US dollars in assets? I think I’m not qualified enough.
2018-12-9 湖头条新闻 [28], 12-09-2018 23:43. 98 Likes
Although this is another reason not to support Meng, it has a different background. When focusing on her wealth, an internal division within the Chinese identity is visible. People seem to prioritize other factors than just her nationality. In a way, it is a partial rejection of nationalism, since people do not have the feeling that nationality is enough to form a coherent group. Instead, subgroups
24 and subdivisions are given more emphasis. This differs from the reactions that make support dependent on her nationality, because in that case nationality is emphasized, and it is exactly this factor that separates her from others.
Faced with these critical posts about Meng’s wealth, supporters of Meng wrote that these commenters are merely jealous, because they are poor themselves and dissatisfied with their own lives, turning to Weibo to vent their frustrations. In their view, Meng earned her wealth over the years, through honest, hard work. Therefore, she should not be criticized for her wealth, but supported because she is a compatriot.
What is happening with everybody? Huawei is a national enterprise, a backbone of society, a postcard for representing China. And Ren Zhengfei and his daughter are entrepreneurs who can promote national progress and let China have a world stage. We should support them in this politically charged case!
2018-12-9 湖头条新闻 [33], 12-09-2018 23:20. 21 Likes
According to Jiang (2012), nationalism can disguise internal differences by putting national identity first. This is partially supported by the comments. Indeed, there are many who support Meng because of her nationality. On the other hand, this is not the case for everyone: others point to these internal differences as a reason not to show support, especially because of her wealth.
Reactions of nationalism
Nationalism can be expressed in all kinds of ways, such as by using national symbols (flags etc.), but also by actions. In this part of the thesis, I will discuss some of the ways in which commenters react to the developments with nationalist actions. When studying nationalist reactions to the arrest of Meng, we should not forget that posting comments on Weibo can in itself also be an action of nationalism, albeit one that requires minimal effort. Since the comments that appear are almost exclusively written and read by Chinese (it is written in Chinese after all) and because of the fact that they appear on a Chinese platform, it is primarily a narrative that is held among Chinese. When an internet user expresses their negative opinions about a country, it is mostly addressed at fellow Chinese, since Canadians and Americans will not read it. Instead, it functions as a way of sharing a sense of being attacked as a group, which can strengthen a feeling of belonging-togetherness, a feeling of unity.
Others think this is not enough and call for action outside of the virtual realm. This is also expressed by some Weibo users, who say that venting your frustration on Weibo does not do anything to change the situation. Instead, they should go to the Canadian embassy to protest for instance (2018-12-9 湖头条新闻, C.113). Nationalist actions outside of the virtual realm can happen in all kinds
25 of ways, e.g. on a consumer level or on a government level. Firstly, I will discuss economic actions, notably boycotting certain companies. Afterwards I will cover some of the ways in which commenters appeal to the government to take action.
Boycotts
As Gerth (2003) describes in his book, China has a long history of linking consumption and nationalism. This could be seen during the Olympic Games in France in April 2008, when there were human rights activists who angered the Chinese. As a result, there were calls to boycott Carrefour and start demonstrations in front of these supermarkets. Chinese shoppers who bought products at Carrefour were called traitors by some; even people who called the boycott itself irrational, were regarded with feelings of anger. In fact, the supermarket employees were Chinese. Something similar happened occasionally when there is a period of more tension with Japan, for instance about the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands. As a result, people called for boycotts on Japanese cars, electronics etc. Japanese cars, although owned by Chinese, were destroyed in the process.
In this case, similar reactions can be seen, albeit less extreme. A large number of commenters call for a boycott on American products and especially iPhones. Many different Weibo users mention boycotting Apple as a good strategy. Others comment proudly that they bought a Huawei phone and will not buy an iPhone any more. Apple is a direct competitor of Huawei, both worldwide and on the domestic market. Therefore, it is logical that Apple is chosen as a target for the boycott, because this is a direct form of retaliation. In addition, Apple is a brand that is strongly connected to the image of the US. It is not just a product that happens to come from the US, but part of a luxurious western or American lifestyle in China. It is also a well-known and popular brand in China.
It is time to boycott Apple phones and squeeze them out of the domestic market! The US imperialists are increasingly arrogant, attacking Huawei around the world
2018-12-6 1 [C. 15], 12-06-2018 09:11. 676 Likes
The calls for a boycott did indeed result in fewer iPhone sales than expected, as can be concluded from the significantly lower total revenue. In a letter to Apple investors sent on January 2 2019, Apple announced that the revenue was adjusted to $84 billion instead of $89 billion to $93 billion that were announced on November 1. According to the letter, this mainly had to do with sales in China: “Lower than anticipated iPhone revenue, primarily in Greater China, accounts for all of our
revenue shortfall to our guidance and for much more than our entire year-over-year revenue decline”.
As a reason, ‘rising trade tensions’ and ‘macroeconomic challenges’ are mentioned, without pinpointing what the exact reasons might be (Apple, 2019).
26 Because of the timing of this drop in revenue and the fact that it is specifically the iPhone in China that is sold less, it is almost certain that the events around the arrest of Meng Wanzhou contributed significantly. According to USB analyst Tim Arcuri, calculations based on China MIIT data imply that “[Apple] shipments in December month may have only been a couple of million units” and that “this much of decline could imply some potential backlash to the Huawei event and trade issues.” (Sullivan, 2019)
Not buying Apple, but Huawei instead, then, becomes an action of nationalism, a way of supporting China and its economy. In this way, consumption can be a method for strengthening national identity. Gerth (2003) regards consumption as a very important element for nation-building in China. According to him, consumerism defined nationalism and vice versa. The idea of the nation was extended to the consumption of goods. Certain products were ‘national products’ (国货) and should therefore be bought to support the Chinese nation. On the other hand, consumers should refrain from buying foreign products (洋货). Although Gerth predominantly describes this during the ‘National Product movement’, at the beginning of the 20th century, he indicates that the same lines of thought could be seen later as well, for instance during the Cultural Revolution and even the boycott on Japanese products much later. I argue that this same logic can be seen in the comments that react to the arrest of Meng Wanzhou.
When using Huawei or other phones of a Chinese brand is an act of nationalism, using an iPhone is its contrary: there are also commenters on Weibo who show their support for Huawei, but with their post, it is visible that they used an iPhone. This perceived hypocrisy is quickly pointed out, with comments like: “Does your iPhone work well?”.
[…] Whoever still uses an iPhone, our friendship is over!
2018-12-6 头条新闻 [C. 56], 12-06-2018 08:14. 25 Likes
However, not everyone thinks boycotting Apple is a good solution, because many other widely used products are also from the US, such as Windows and Android. Some point at the fact that it is impossible not to use American products, since they are worldwide standards and often there are no serious alternatives. Some commenters point out that it is not very productive to blame fellow Chinese for using American products, because this only causes problems between Chinese. A few posts even see similarities with the boycott Japanese cars movement, when the cars of Chinese people were demolished if they were of a Japanese brand.
27 Others doubt if Chinese will be able to do such a boycott, since they do not think Chinese are united enough to do such thing. They belief Chinese do not have a backbone and would eagerly buy these products for themselves instead of thinking of the bigger picture of supporting the nation.
Canada Goose
Although Apple was the most mentioned brand to be boycotted, Canada Goose was another target, probably partly because of its name. Canada Goose is a Canadian company that sells luxury jackets. This brand is mentioned much less frequently in the comments than Apple. When it is mentioned, it is often in a joke about geese. One of the reasons it was covered by the news, was because the brand planned to open a flagship store in the Sanlitun neighborhood in Beijing. Because of the unrest, they decided to open the store later. In spite of the calls for a boycott on the brand, many Chinese went to the official opening and sales were profitable. This shows that the results of these calls for boycotts can vary, probably because these comments were less than the comments about Apple, but there might also be all kinds of other reasons, such as Canada Goose being less of an icon of Canada and not a direct competitor of Huawei.
When the news was published that the store opened later than intended, the reactions varied: some of the commenters saw this as a way of retaliating against the measures taken by Canada. A few others, however, expressed that they believed that too much emphasis was being placed on the bad economic situation for Canada Goose, while many Chinese companies also suffered revenue losses as a result of the trade war. Interestingly, this puts the company Canada Goose in another perspective, since it is not seen as a company that should be boycotted as a retaliation after Meng’s arrest, but a company that suffers economic losses just as Chinese companies do. Furthermore, it is interesting to see how some Weibo users wonder why the media do not cover the economic problems of Chinese companies.
Appeals to the government
Apart from calls for taking economic action on the consumer level, Weibo users also appeal to the government to take action, usually without addressing the government directly. When the Chinese embassy in Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement about the unlawfulness of the arrest, there were comments saying that the government should take a stronger stance against Canada and that it should be less diplomatic while pointing out injustice. One commenter even compares the policies of China and North Korea, who at least have the courage to act against the US without restraint.
I don’t want to comment too rashly, but I think our country responds too patiently to these kinds of problems. Although it’s not too big of a deal, it’s ineffectual and doesn’t solve the core of the
28
problem. Sometimes I even think that the unyielding attitude of North Korea shows a strong moral backbone. At least they dare to speak and act!
2018-12-6 1 [C. 28], 12-06-2018 09:56. 56 Likes
However, usually the Chinese government is not addressed quite so directly: the posts are written as general suggestions rather than direct appeals to the government, such as the comment below:
I suggest to arrest the Canadian citizen Wu Yifan thus carrying out a counterattack
2018-12-7 头条新闻 [C. 1], 12-07-2018 15:51. 1116 Likes
Wu Yifan (also known as Kris Wu) is a Canadian actor and singer. In China, he performs as a singer and an actor in several well-known Chinese movies. Another commenter suggests to arrest the senior management of Apple in China, merging Canada and America into one actor. After all, the arrest happened in Canada and Apple is an American company. Words like these are also used as a threat towards Canada, addressing Canada directly, although it is very unlikely that Canadians will read these posts, since it is on Weibo.
I hope the National Security Bureau will arrest a few more Canadians.
2018-12-13 环球网 [C. 19], 12-13-2018 12:47. 58 Likes
The reason it says ‘more’ in the comment above, is because two Canadians had been arrested by that time: Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor. Kovrig is a former diplomat working as a conflict mitigation consultant and Spavor a consultant who arranged travel to North Korea. Later they were accused of espionage, but it is easily connected to the detention of Meng. In 2014 there was a similar case, when Kevin and Julia Garratt were arrested and imprisoned in China on espionage charges and accusations of stealing military secrets. This happened after a Chinese national had been detained in Canada on US request. In a lot of ways these two cases seem similar. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi even confirmed this, when he said that these cases were a ‘tit-for-tat for Meng’s arrest’
