Idolizing the nation: Chinese fandom nationalism through the Fangirl Expedition

Abstract

The Fangirl Expedition took place during protests against the amended 2019 Hong Kong Extradition Bill. Chinese Fangirls mobilized by visiting blocked foreign social websites and attacking posts critical of the Chinese government. This paper investigates how Fangirls, originally a non-politicized group, successfully mobilized a massive nationalist action in cyberspace. In a departure from previous male-led cyber-nationalist movements, Fangirls innovatively created an idolized image of the nation, accommodated political agendas using the language of fandom, and used existing fandom networks and tactics. This paper explores in depth the mobilization process of the Fangirl Expedition and its unique cause, discourses, and tactics. As yet, the repercussions of the activism have not yet been fully revealed.

Keywords:

• Fangirl Expedition
• fandom activism
• cyber-nationalism
• subcultural groups

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 Little Pink was originally used on Boys’ Love, a popular literature website, in Jinjiang. This label was later appropriated to refer to female-led youth nationalism in China (Fang and Repnikova, 2018).

2 See https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-09/-fangirls-defend-china-from-hong-kong-protesters-and-the-world

3 Diba, also known as D-bar, is Li Yi’s (a popular former Chinese soccer player) Baidu Post Bar and has more than 22 million registered users. Diba was originally a forum where “losers” assembled for playfulness and gradually developed into a group of subcultures. They launched several online “holy wars.” The first “holy war” was to attack K-Pop fans in China, while the later ones became online cyber nationalist movements.

4 https://www.weibo.com/1642591402/Imyysm3j9

5 https://www.jiemian.com/article/6533579.html

6 A former female idol in the K-Pop band f(x). She returned to China in 2015.

7 A former male idol in the K-Pop band EXO. He returned to China in 2015.

8 A rapper from Xinjiang, China.

9 See http://m.xinhuanet.com/2018-08/27/c_1123332321.htm, last visited on 22 October 2020.

10 See http://www.xinhuanet.com/comments/2020-09/16/c_1126498530.htm, last visited on 22 October, 2020.

11 See https://zx.sina.cn/e/2020-07-14/zx-iivhvpwx5227303.d.html, last visited 21 September, 2020.

12 See https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-12/china-celebrities-help-enlist-new-generation-of-online-patriots

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yuyi Zhuang

Yuyi Zhuang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Xiamen University, Xiamen, China. His research interests include political communication, intergovernmental relations, and local governance, with an emphasis on Greater China.

Songge Huang

Songge Huang is currently a game writer at Blackjack Studio, Shanghai, China. She received her M.S. in Political Science from Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.

Chao Chen

Chao Chen is Associate Professor in the Department of Comparative Politics at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), Shanghai, China. He is also Research Fellow at the Institute of Political Economy and at the Research Centre for Innovation Policy Assessment. His research interests include political communication and political economy, with an emphasis on Greater China.