Social media large Twitter on Thursday launched an emoji for the Milk Tea Alliance, a worldwide on-line pro-democracy motion that has united anti-Beijing campaigners in Hong Kong and Taiwan with protesters in Thailand, Myanmar and past.
Activists welcomed the announcement of the emoji – a white cup set in opposition to a background of three colors representing completely different shades of milk tea in Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan – for the primary anniversary of the motion.
The Milk Tea Alliance sprang from a Twitter struggle that flared after Chinese nationalists accused a younger Thai actor and his girlfriend of supporting democracy in Hong Kong and Taiwanese independence.
????Today we’re launching an emoji for the #MilkTeaAlliance, a web-based solidarity alliance first began in April 2020 as a Twitter meme which has grown into a worldwide pro-democracy motion led by activists and anxious residents in ???????????????????????????????? and world wide.
— Twitter Public Policy (@Policy) April 8, 2021
It is called after a shared ardour for candy tea drinks within the three locations.
Use of the hashtag peaked once more in February after the navy coup in Myanmar, the place protesters utilizing the hashtag rallied regional help.
“We have seen more than 11 million Tweets featuring the #MilkTeaAlliance hashtag over the past year,” Twitter stated in an announcement that pushed the hashtag to among the many prime trending in Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan on Thursday.
Previously, Twitter launched emojis for #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter actions.
The Twitter emoji confirmed world recognition and lent better credibility to the youth motion, stated distinguished Thai activist Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, one of many alliance’s main voices.
“It’s important as it shows the young people fighting for democracy that the world is with them and they’re making an impact,” Netiwit instructed Reuters. “It’s a sign that online activism can go much further.”
Twitter is blocked in China and its obvious endorsement of a motion with a robust present of opposition to Beijing was unlikely to harm its enterprise, stated James Buchanan, a lecturer at Bangkok’s Mahidol University International College.
“Twitter has plenty to gain by appealing to young people in the Asian markets that are open to them,” he stated.
© Thomson Reuters 2021
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