This archive report was first published on 29 September 2019.
Published on September 29, 2019, the Hong Kong protests brought back painful memories of China's colonial past for many mainlanders.
When I saw pictures of protesters hanging a British colonial flag in the legislative building, I felt a surge of anger and frustration. My Chinese friend, who had been forwarding sympathetic posts about the protests just days before, had a different take: 'If they want to kiss up to the previous colonizer, leave them alone.'
As the protests escalated, I met with a friend in Shanghai, a consultant with experience in both China and America. He asked me, 'How can the protests be so well-organized if they're not orchestrated by the United States?' The logic was flawed, but I didn't want to argue.
The Hong Kong protests were a leaderless movement, organized through the internet. But in China, the narrative has been distorted to fit the government's agenda. We've been victims in the past, and now Chinese people must share 'one heart' and 'one faith.' Anyone who criticizes government policy or doubts a government narrative is 'un-Chinese,' a 'running dog' of foreign forces.
We're trapped in this rhetoric. Moderate patriotism is silenced, and extreme patriotism is becoming the loudest voice in China's increasingly tense political climate.
Most of us love our country, but the question is how to make patriotism a matter of education, not indoctrination. There's a lesson here for every country, not just China. If patriotism is taught to perpetuate power, control people, and prepare them for conflict, the result is a toxic form of nationalism.
