A Chinese anime fan says she was detained and questioned by police after wearing a traditional Japanese robe to pose for photos in the eastern city of Suzhou, sparking a heated debate on China’s social media over what some consider nationalism. exaggerated.
wearing a white kimono decorated with images of red flowers and green leaves the young woman said she was waiting in line to buy a snack on Wednesday night (19) on Huaihai Street, a lively food space popular for its Japanese bars and restaurants, when she and her photographer were suddenly surrounded by police. .
The woman, who goes by the nickname “Is Shadow Not Self”, posted details of the moment on Weibo, a Chinese platform similar to Twitter, on Sunday (14), where a related hashtag was viewed more than 90 million times before being censored this week. Monday (15th).
According to the publication, the police objected to her kimono, which she had paired with a long blonde wig as a cosplay of a main character in the Japanese manga series “Summer Time Rendering”.
Wearing a kimono in public in China has become increasingly controversial in recent years amid rising nationalism and anti-Japanese sentiment. Rooted in Japan’s brutal invasion of China during World War II, Chinese public sentiment against Japan waxed and waned—often linked to China’s domestic politics and the state of bilateral ties.
But as Chinese nationalism grows more aggressive and intolerant under Xi Jinping’s leadership, fans of Japanese culture – once popular with China’s youth – face mounting criticism and suspicion.
‘Are you Chinese?’
In a video the anime fan posted on Weibo, allegedly showing part of her encounter with the police, the woman can be heard explaining to a police officer that she was having a photo shoot.
“If you come here wearing Hanfu, I wouldn’t say that. But you’re wearing a kimono, like a Chinese woman. You are a Chinese! Are you?” the policeman yells at her in response.
Hanfu is a general term for the ancient clothing traditionally worn by ethnic Han Chinese before the Qing Dynasty. Its popularity has increased in recent years amid Xi’s promotion of traditional culture.
The woman then calmly asked why she was being yelled at.
“On suspicion of provoking fights and causing trouble,” the police said, referring to a general indictment often used against dissidents, journalists, human rights lawyers and activists.
The woman was then grabbed and escorted by several police officers in a chaotic ending to the video, which was viewed more than 8 million times as of Monday.
The woman said in the Weibo post that she was interrogated at the police station for about five hours until 1 am. According to her, her phone was searched, her photos deleted and her kimono confiscated. She said she was also “instructed” and warned by police not to talk about her internet experience.
THE CNN cannot independently verify the woman’s post and the video, although two storefronts seen in the video match those on Huaihai Street. THE CNN tried to contact the police at Shishan Station near Huaihai Street, but an employee who answered the phone said he “didn’t know much about the situation.”
The woman did not respond to the attempt to contact the CNN via Weibo.
kimono reviews
In an earlier post on Qzone, another Chinese social media platform, the woman said the police also asked her to write a 500-word self-criticism letter.
“I feel like I have no dignity right now,” she said in the Qzone post on Friday (19). “The police said what I did was wrong. I feel helpless… I like Japanese culture, European culture and I also like traditional Chinese culture. I like multiculturalism, I like watching anime, is it wrong for me to like something?”
“I’ve always been very patriotic – or rather, I had been very patriotic and trusted the police, until now… I can only say I’m very disappointed, it just so happens that I never had the freedom to use or say what I want.”
A screenshot of her Qzone post was shared on Weibo and went viral over the weekend, prompting the woman to post the sequence of events on Weibo.
“If that’s what you want to hear, I can also say to you: Sorry, I shouldn’t have disregarded the public sentiment of walking the streets in Japanese clothes, this is wrong and dangerous behavior, having hurt our national feelings,” he wrote. her on Weibo.
However, some criticized her for wearing traditional Japanese clothing. “Why does a good Chinese wear kimono? Think about what your grandparents went through,” one user said.
However, many more expressed support for the anime fan, saying she didn’t do anything wrong, especially as she didn’t wear the kimono on sensitive days or near landmarks commemorating the Sino-Japanese War (which had already caused problems for other users). in kimono).
“I saw the video and your account of the events. You didn’t hurt me or my feelings as a Chinese. I hope you don’t blame yourself and wish you were safe,” said the top comment with 25,000 upvotes.
“I suggest the police close all Japanese restaurants, or I will call the police to provoke fights and cause trouble,” another netizen said in a sarcastic comment.
Some accused the police of abuse of power, while others bemoaned the lack of rule of law and expressed concern about increasingly narrow-minded nationalist sentiment.
“The cultural witch hunt is no longer limited to the online world. Sigh, this is just the first taste of the bitter pill to feed nationalism,” read one comment.
With information from Shawn Deng and the CNN Beijing newsroom.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
