Surge in Far-Right Youth in China: "21st Century Hongweibing Posting Patriotic Content on SNS"

University student Peng Lin publicly pledged allegiance at the Chinese Communist Party's 100th anniversary ceremony last July.
[Photo by Weibo]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Seoyoung] It has been confirmed that far-right patriotism is spreading among the younger generation across Chinese society.

On the 21st (local time), the British BBC broadcast reported that the number of young people in China who continuously post social media (SNS) content emphasizing patriotism, called 'Ziganwo,' is rapidly increasing. 'Ziganwo' is an abbreviation for 'self-initiated Ummao.'

Ummao refers to a type of internet comment group in the past in China that posted government-praising articles and received 5 mao (about 90 won) per post. However, since a few years ago, the number of young people posting such articles without government compensation has increased, and they have come to be called Ziganwo. They work voluntarily for the Chinese Communist Party and the government and are typically composed of government officials and their families.

Ziganwo attack human rights issues, multicultural awareness, and democracy as corrupting Chinese society. For example, they criticize the writer 'Fang Fang,' who revealed the reality of COVID-19 spread in Wuhan, China, as a "traitor who stabbed the motherland in the back," or criticize the common knowledge that drinking milk in the morning helps growth by saying it "disregards the value of traditional Chinese breakfast."

A patriotic film depicting the Korean War from China's perspective, "Jangjin Lake" poster.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

BBC analyzed that the increase in these far-right youths is based on Chinese President Xi Jinping's desire to promote identity. As patriotism spreads throughout society, young people have established a way to spread posts voluntarily without government payment. It also added that a system has been formed where those who post patriotic content can gain additional benefits through advertisements or paid content, creating a kind of symbiotic relationship between the state and Ziganwo.

BBC also pointed out that the current generation of Chinese youth mostly grew up receiving indoctrinated patriotic education after the Tiananmen Square incident in the 1990s. As a result of being intensively educated about the humiliations China suffered from foreign powers, they indiscriminately criticize countries outside China, especially various Western ideologies.

Currently, in China, besides Ziganwo, far-right youth groups showing blind loyalty to the state are gradually increasing. In particular, the 'Angry Youth,' called the 'Red Guards of the 21st century,' are groups expressing extreme anger online. Among them, radical patriotic netizens born after the 1990s are sometimes called 'Little Pink.' This name comes from the pink color of the online community sites where they are active.

There are growing concerns within China about excessive patriotism. Yuan Nansheng, deputy director of the Institute of International Studies at Peking University, stated, "China must continue to expand openness and prevent the rise of domestic populism." The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) also emphasized through its official SNS account that "patriotic statements and manipulations aimed at attracting people are not acceptable," and "commercial use of patriotic content is an insult to the country."