This Chinese Social Media Influencer cries over seeing a bank
And then slams Taiwanese people for being “haters”.
But is she being “too patriotic”?
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
The Chinese Communist Party has raised generations of people disconnected from their own culture
and history.
And so the Chinese Communist Party fills that gap with nationalism!
Because that’s what the people really want.
This way the Chinese Communist Party can preserve their authoritarian power, and keep the Chinese
people from thinking about all the problems they’ve caused.
Chinese leaders “link China’s greatness to participation in intensifying global economic
competitions.”
“So far, China’s winnings from global competition... have tremendously boosted national
pride and confidence among the Chinese public, and fostered even greater trust in the CCP.”
Which may sound great to the people in power.
But this excessive national pride rooted in global economics sometimes results in very
odd behavior.
Hello Everyone.
I’m now in Lyon, France.
I just have one thing to say.
I’m so proud to be Chinese.
Take a look at this!
Bank of China.
It’s the Bank of China.
Our China is so powerful.
France has our Bank of China.
Seeing this now I’m just so proud.
Bank of China.
I have no words except for I’m so proud!
Bank of China.
Ok, but it’s not surprising that a lot of countries have a Bank of China branch.
I doubt anyone from America ever travels to China and cries when they see a Citibank.
Well, I cry when I see Citibank, but that’s because they repossessed my bike.
I loved you, Greased Lightning.
Anyway, that video was posted on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, by a young mother with
the channel name “Chinese-Belgian Mixed Angèle.”
She sells cosmetics and posts about her life abroad raising an interracial family with
her Belgian husband.
The channel has 236,000 followers.
Her Bank of China video quickly became her most popular video, with 220,000 likes.
Many of the supportive commenters were also in tears.
Now there’s nothing wrong with having pride in where you grew up, but Chinese nationalism
pushes it way beyond the limit.
People who grow up in China under the Chinese Communist Party’s ideology are taught to
wholeheartedly identify with China’s economic growth.
To the point where being a good citizen means applauding a Chinese bank on foreign land.
But seriously, it’s just a bank.
And then, her tone changed from tears of pride, to raw fury.
I’ll explain after the break
Welcome back.
So the video of a Chinese woman crying over seeing a Chinese bank in France got a lot
of attention.
Like I said, many viewers were supportive and expressed their pride in the comments.
But not everyone did.
You know how my video from the other day went viral.
Because I was in the streets of France and I saw our Bank of China, China’s red Bank
of China.
And in just two days.
I found my private messages flooded with hater comments.
They used these phrases that I have never heard of before.
Some sensitive terms that I’m not going to say here.
You know where news about me went viral?
It went viral in Taiwan.
No wonder there were so many people yelling at me.
The words they used, I cannot say.
But let me say this to you trolls.
You scummy people, you.
There is only one China!
I’m not afraid.
You can’t see this news in mainland China.
You can only see it abroad, and in Taiwan.
I’ll say it again.
Hate all you want, I’m not afraid, I’m strong.
I am China strong.
One last time, There is only one China!
You are Taiwan PROVINCE! *scoff* Our China.
Let’s Go!
China’s the greatest!
Yes, of course, all of the haters must be from Taiwan.
Should’ve known!
It’s hard to tell what made her so upset because she didn’t explain what sensitive
terms people were allegedly using.
She yells so passionately that Taiwan is a province of China, but said herself that China
has censorship preventing people from seeing the news about her, while Taiwan has full
access.
Don’t think too hard about it.
But according to news reports, most of the negative comments actually came from Chinese
netizens who felt embarrassed by the woman’s feverish support of China.
Comments on Weibo accused her of bringing up sensitive topics for clickbait.
“It’s never wrong to be patriotic, but there’s a clear distinction between true
patriotism and toying with people’s patriotic emotions.”
“Whether this is performative patriotism or not, these emotions don’t seem natural.
Common sense is important!”
“Patriotism is work.
Making money is the goal.
Going abroad is life.”
That's another tricky thing about Chinese patriotism and nationalism.
Too much patriotism, and the people who you thought were on your side will shut you down.
Meanwhile in Taiwan, almost no one had even heard of this woman.
“I haven’t seen any ‘Bank of China Emotional Tears Headline News’.
Don’t make stuff up to attack Taiwanese people.”
“Actually seeing her yell ‘Our China, China is the greatest’ makes me feel sad
for her.
She sounds hollow.”
“I can understand that seeing things related to me in a strange place will give a sense
of familiarity; but it’s excessive to attribute every little thing to your own country.
By the way, as a Taiwanese, I really haven’t seen any relevant news about this.”
The whole thing just feels out of touch.
She thought she was supporting the Chinese Communist Party, but just ended up embarrassing
herself.
But just to add to the craziness, there’s this.
A video of the woman and her Belgian husband singing patriotic songs in front of a Chinese
flag.
‘Without the Chinese Communist Party, There Would Be No New China’
Yeah, it’s that song.
But wait, there’s more.
I am very excited today because it is the Communist Party’s birthday.
I want to say happy birthday.
I really love China.
Is anyone else getting some Stockholm Syndrome vibes?
My father-in-law is a Communist Party member.
My in-laws raised a good daughter.
Uh, are you using your Belgian husband to fix your broken relationship with your parents?
I love China from the bottom of my heart.
My heart is a Chinese heart.
Ok now this is a hostage video.
I also want to tell everyone, ‘don’t worry about us’.
We are very happy together.
That just makes me extra worried about him.
Haha, I’m kidding, I’m sure they have a very loving and fulfilling marriage.
But look, one woman being super enthusiastic about her country is not a big deal.
And I have no problem with her personally.
The reason Angèle’s story went viral is that it represents how the Chinese Communist
Party encourages this kind of excessive nationalism.
To be seen as a “good” citizen—to raise your social credit score—a lot of Chinese
people feel like they have to be extremely nationalistic and pro-Chinese Communist Party.
And this is exactly what the Party wants: To make people afraid not to love it.
Who’s got Stockholm Syndrome now?
And finally, it’s time for me to answer a question from you, a fan who supports China
Uncensored on Patreon and Locals.
Black Label asks on Patreon asks: “I don't know if you covered this, but how exactly
did Xi Jinping come into power?
Or hell, most of former leaders after Deng Xiaoping”
Good question, Black Label.
China does not have elections.
When Mao Zedong called China the “people’s democratic dictatorship,” he only meant
one word of that.
And it’s not “democratic.”
The way Chinese leaders get into power is through a political process known as...power
struggle.
Communist Party officials constantly fight each other.
They make enemies and alliances and step on whoever they need to to gain power.
There’s really no formal process at all.
We don’t know for sure why Xi Jinping won the power struggle.But my analysis is that
he was seen as a compromise candidate.
People in different political factions each thought Xi was weak, and they could get him
to do their bidding.
They just ended up being wrong.
As for other leaders: Deng Xiaoping took power by staging a coup.
Jiang Zemin was a replacement appointed by Deng Xiaoping because Jiang had supported
Deng killing students in Tiananmen square.
But Deng never really liked Jiang so he then appointed Hu Jintao
So there were never any elections.
Just a people’s democratic dictatorship.
Thanks for your depressing question, Black Label.
And thank you for watching.
Please support us on Patreon.com/ChinaUncensored, or on ChinaUncensored.Locals.com, and you’ll
have the chance for me to answer one of your questions on the show.
I’m Chris Chappell.
Thanks for watching China Uncensored.