Understanding Social Media Discourses: What is the #MilkTeaAlliance?
The origins, the proliferation and the expansion of the discourse surrounding the #MilkTeaAlliance
Image Source: Milktealogy/Facebook
‘Milk Tea,’ a popular drink made from a combination of tea and milk, also a commonality in various Asian cultures, has recently become the focal point of an online solidarity movement known as the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’.
Before going into a deep-dive of the origins of the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ and its recent discourses, it should be noted that the link between the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ and the drink itself is none other than a quiet celebration of the diversity of Asian culture. Variants of the milk tea drink are served across the Asiatic region and remind of the vibrance and heterogeneity of Asian cultures. From the iconic Taiwanese Pearl Milk Tea to the Hong Kong Style Milk Tea made with silk stockings, the drink varies in taste, texture and appearance depending on its local variation. No two cultures in Asia are the same. Whilst the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ engages in discourses beyond the cultural framework, its recognition as ‘a rare moment of regional solidarity’ is a nod of approval for the movement’s symbol of mutual support, strength and solidarity.
Living in an era of big data informatics, where social media has become yet another extension of our personal agency, ‘internet trolling’ and ‘social media warfare’ has become a regular occurrence to our digital lives. Used to describe actors that create discord on the internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people by posting inflammatory or off-topic messages, social media trolling has been commonplace to celebrity abuses and has gained further prominence during social media warfare between online groups and communities; sometimes even waging battles over national identity and pride.
Chinese internet trolls are often referred to as the ‘Little Pink’ or the ‘50-cents’ (‘wumaos’) due to their strong nationalist sentiments and an allegation which suggested that these actors were paid a mere 50 cents for each comment. Classification as ‘internet trolls’ is due to their ubiquitous presence online and their rapid-fire ‘combat strategies’ used during engagement in online media warfare. Alternatively known as ‘brigading’, these actors have been seen using online platforms to curb criticism of the Chinese government and mediate narratives to suit their own interests. Despite their prominence, it must be noted that such a phenomenon is non-exclusive; internet trolls are all-pervasive across the web. Whilst many protect and represent their own interests, it's not uncommon for groups to form over similar interests and launch ‘offensives’ on forum pages and community groups like Facebook and Reddit.
#Nnevvy the movement’s origins
The ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ did not set out to become the non-official transnational alliance it is now. Its conception owes credit to previous discourses known by the trend #nnevvy.
Soon after its release, the Thai television show ‘2gether: The Series’ became a hit in both Thailand and countries abroad, namely mainland China. Having established a small fan base in the Chinese community, concerns were raised when one of the actors liked a tweet which referred to Hong Kong as a ‘country’. Calls for a boycott of the television show were seen and Chinese fans demanded an apology for his implicit endorsement of Hong Kong’s
Having established a small audience in the Chinese community, it was perhaps unsurprising for the Chinese fans to have reacted badly to when one of the actors liked a tweet which depicted pictures of cityscapes, one of which was from Hong Kong, captioned with ‘these four pictures are taken from four countries’. The tweet was seen as insinuating Hong Kong’s status as a ‘country’, a narrative strongly opposed by some of the Chinese fans and the actor was asked to apologise for his implicit endorsement of Hong Kong’s independence.
Image Source: Nnevvy/Facebook
Despite the actor’s open apology, a photo from his girlfriend’s social media account, who went by the handle ‘nnevvy’, was salvaged and publicity criticised. Featuring a picture taken in Taiwan, the actor had commented that she looked ‘as beautiful as a Chinese girl,’ to which she asked ‘what?’ In response to a question from another user asking about her style, she said it was that of a ‘Taiwanese girl’. Assumedly arisen from a combination of miscommunication and misinterpretation of the comment as yet another implicit endorsement of Taiwan’s independent status, tensions quickly escalated as #nnevvy was deployed to demand for an apology and nationalist insults were lobbied at Thai users.
The nationalist results proved hard to offend Thai netizens and their reaction has been surprisingly ‘fun’. From laughing at the insults and repackaging them as memes to poke fun at both themselves and their oppositions, Thai netizens have been creative with their response to the online ‘attack’ and confronted their oppositions with adequate humour and sarcasm.
Image Source: Jasonyng/Twitter
(The image above was a #nnevvy meme made to poke fun at Chinese internet trolls)
In recent years, online platforms have become commonplace for open discourse, sometimes even proliferating into confrontations or ‘battles’ between national interest.
Hong Kong and Taiwan have had their fair share of Twitter ‘battles’ in the last couple of years: several noteworthy being those over the 2016 Taiwanese general election, 2019 Hong Kong Aint-Extradition Bill Demonstrations and current calls for Taiwan’s global recognition and acceptance into the World Health Assembly.Drawing on commonalities in experiences with internet trolling, and popular ‘milk tea’ cultures, it was proposed by a Twitter user that the three resembled a ‘Milk Tea Alliance.’ After its first usage, the term was well received by the internet community and came to be recognised as a non-official transnational alliance. Artists and cartoonists alike have not only designed memes and artworks to endorse the term but it was further observed in a diplomatic exchange that authorities were also seen to adopt the ‘milk tea’ commonality. When Taiwan Taoyuan Major presented PPE to Thailand to help with the coronavirus efforts, the officials were seen drinking Taiwanese milk tea and Thai Iced Tea as a symbol of friendship.
Image Source: Nnevvy/Facebook
Read more about the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ and how this climate of ‘internet trolling’ and ‘meme wars’ had come into being in this article by the Diplomat, ‘In Milk Tea We Trust’: How a Thai-Chinese Meme War Led to a New (Online) Pan-Asia Alliance’. The article promises to be an insightful read and will help to contextualise the current virtual climate.
Since its conception, the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ has been engaged in discourses that extend beyond the virtual borders formed by its allied members. Due to deployment of the #MilkTeaAlliance and coupling with other social concerns, its social profile has increased greatly and supported base widening massively as a result.
#MilkTeaAlliance is often seen coupled with #StopMekongDam. As part of an ongoing dispute over the construction of hydroelectric power stations along the Mekong River, the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ has been called on to support counter-movements against the construction proposals made by the Mekong River Commission. Whilst Cambodia has since settled on a ten-year moratorium over dam constructions, it remains to be seen in Laos for the government to retract its construction proposals. Despite scrutiny from global environmental groups, Laos is the only country in the Lower Mekong Basin that continues to push ahead with its Mekong River dam projects.
Whilst many of Laos’ hydropower construction projects are Chinese-funded and speculation have been sown over the nature of these projects as a threat to national security, greater concerns lie with the project’s environmental impacts.
Running from Tibetan Plateau through South East Asia, the Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in Southeast Asia and provides water to a substantial number of SEA countries including Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Its construction would not only limit the water supply to the countries downstream but will greatly affect the countries’ agricultural production. Due to disruptions to fish migration routes and sediment flows, the construction projects risk destroying the river’s biodiversity and ecosystem.
#StopMekongDam is part of an online movement to help raise awareness for the concerns illustrated above and has since seen the inclusion of Cambodia and Vietnam into the ‘Milk Tea Alliance.’
Image Source: Reddit
Published on Youtube (24th April) was an official music video for the song, ‘Iisang Dagat（海的那边)’; a ‘COVID-10 tribute’ published by the Chinese Embassy of Manila. Whilst its intended purpose is to show gratitude to China for standing with the Philippines during the pandemic and advocate solidarity as the two nations ‘stands as one, fights as one, and heals as one’ (#CNPHHealsAsOne), it has received 215 thousand dislikes and multitudes of negative comments.
Many speculate that the negative reception was due to the song’s relevance to the South China Sea dispute. Disputes over territorial ownership of the region have long troubled the nations involved. Whilst recent years have seen nations weakening in opposition against bilateral talks, negative reception to the published song due to its title, Filipino for ‘One Sea’, interpreted as an implicit attempt to convince the public to support ‘owning the same sea’.
A further expansion in discourse has witnessed the addition of more Southeast Asian countries into the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’. In its relevance to the South China Sea dispute, the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ upholds a common sentiment between all associated nations in their desire to prevent unjust exercises of economic or military power in regional territorial claims.
Further Proliferations: #Sikkim. and Australia joins the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ with Aptamil
Considerably a lot less covered in mainstream media, two developments have also been associated with the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’. Whilst on their own, the developments are capable of generating greater discussion, the importance of their association with the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ lies with further expansion and inclusion of India and Australia into the greater discourse.
China’s sudden ban on beef from Australian slaughterhouses has raised fears over its action being a ‘tit-for-tat move’; a ‘retaliation’ or ‘penalty’ from previous disputes over the coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, plans to introduce major tariffs on Australian barley have also been put into action. However, the Australian government’s recent call for an independent investigation into the origins of the virus outbreak has been met with support from within the ‘Milk Tea Alliance.’ Upon its initiation into the circle, the following picture was produced:
Image Source: Khunprinx/Twitter
Sikkim is a state in northeastern India that borders China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south.
Following a recent clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the India-China boundary in north Sikkim, further calls for India’s inclusion into the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ can be evidenced.
Reports of a border stand-off took place on May 9th, where dozens of soldiers were seen exchanging blows and pelting stones at one another. Whilst the conflict was resolved at a local level, ‘four Indian soldiers and seven Chinese troops suffered injuries during the confrontation’.
Whilst this was not the first time Indian and Chinese soldiers have experienced border conflicts, it was allegedly reported that a young Indian Army lieutenant punched a Chinese PLA major on his nose when he was told to ‘go back’ and that Sikkim was not his territory. The lack of resolution and differing views regarding the alignment of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has caused conflicts to arise in the past.
Whilst admonished for provoking a greater conflict (for obvious diplomatic reasons) there has been quiet admiration echoed across online platforms commending the young officer for his bravery. The play on words, contrasting in the phrase “‘small’ Indian lieutenant punched a ‘Big’ Chinese major” has brought subtle reverberations of supportive sentiments; many of whom are supporters of the ‘Milk Tea Alliance.’
Current Social Media Climate
Most recent developments in the social media discourse surrounding the ‘Milk Tea Alliance’ has seen further increases in its social profile and widened engagement transnational movements. Exacerbated by new COVID-19 restrictions, Thai social media users have been subject to a crackdown on freedom of expression online. According to a report from Amnesty International, the Thai government has begun a system of prosecution; criminalising and silencing critics of the authorities. Calls to raise awareness for the government Restricting Freedom of Expression Online in Thailand have been heard amongst supporters of the #MilkTeaAlliance and further calls for social solidarity with Freedom of Expression has been echoed across the International Community.