A Hong Kong celebrity is staunchly defending China on Weibo, and claims to have reported the IP addresses of users whose criticisms of him were shared over 500 times–a “transgression” punishable with a prison sentence.
On October 26, Hong Kong actor Deric Wan Siu-Lun shared his joy at finding a Starbucks in the Shenyang airport on his Weibo. His post came days after CCTV aired a segment which highlighted the steep price of a Starbucks latte in China compared to other countries. That segment was met with criticism online.
@温兆伦: As a fan, I was so happy to suddenly spot it in Shenyang’s new airport after I went through security. Have a happy weekend!
身为它的粉丝的我突然在沈阳新机场入关后发现它，高兴死了！周末愉快！
One hour after his initial post, Wan sent out another weibo, this time hinting that he agreed “with the official media’s attack on Starbuck’s exorbitant prices” (官媒打击星巴克价格虚高). “I fully support any decision made by the central government, and am devoted to the motherland” (绝对支持中央的任何决定、忠于祖国) he added.
He continued posting about his humble beginnings and fervent patriotism over the following days:
@温兆伦: Who says that everything has a good side and a bad side? Consumption and living standards are different in every country. In Hong Kong, buying a car is cheap but maintaining it is expensive. On the mainland, buying one is expensive and maintaining it is cheap. It costs 5 yuan to buy one orange in Hong Kong, but 5 yuan can buy 1 gram of oranges on the mainland. I absolutely support any decisions made by the central government! I am a citizen who is loyal to my motherland. Is it that if you support Deric Wan, that you can’t be fans of other idols? You smart people all got this! Long live the motherland!
谁说什么都有正反的一面，每个国家生活水平和人民消费都不一样，香港买车平易养车贵，内地买车贵养车平易，香港一个橙子5块钱，内地5块钱一斤橙子。我绝对支持中央的任何决定！我是一个忠于祖国的国民，难道你们支持温兆伦就不能当别的偶像的粉丝吗？聪明的你们都懂的！祖国万岁！
@温兆伦: Nobody should belittle themselves. I’ve never been to college and come from a poor family. I started working part-time for 900 yuan a month while I went to school, and to this day I don’t have much. I’m not a wealthy man but I have a wealthy mind. Enough is as good as a feast. You guys are much more blessed then I am. Come on! A bright future awaits for you! Let’s go!
大家都不能小瞧自己，我从没上过大学，穷家子出身，从月薪900边上学边打工开始到现在两袖清风，我不是一个富豪但心中富有，知足常乐。你们比我幸福多了，加油吧！美好的明天都在等着你们！Let’s go！
@温兆伦: My parents died early. Now I don’t have parents but I’m not afraid, because I still have my country, China! No matter where I was born and where i die, I am Chinese!
我的父母早逝，现在的我没有爸没妈但是我不怕；因为我还有我的国家，中国！不管我生在那里？死在何处？我都是一个中国人！
“My heart belongs to the motherland. What about you?”
Wan was born in Hong Kong in 1964, three decades before the island colony was handed back to China by the UK. Many in Hong Kong complain about Beijing’s reach; protesting teachers, parents, and students in the summer of 2012 successfully kept “patriotic education” out of the public school system. But Wan, who acts in films in both mainland China and Hong Kong, proclaims his love of China:
@温兆伦: You shouldn’t have extravagant hopes that people who don’t love their country will contribute much to others or to society, because what they love the most are themselves. I’m thankful that Hong Kong returned to the arms of the motherland in 1997. As a Hong Konger, I was stateless before 1997. Now I proudly declare: My country is China. I am a flesh-and-blood Chinese! No matter how you criticize me, you can’t change my patriotic heart!
一个不爱国的人你也别奢望他会为别人或者社会付出有多大，因为他们最爱的是自己。我很庆幸97香港回归到祖国的怀抱，我这个香港人在97年前是一个没有国家的人，现在我很骄傲地说：我的国家中国，我是一个有血有肉的中国人！不管你们如何批评我都改变不了我爱祖国的心！
@温兆伦: Hong Kong people of course love Hong Kong as well, but it’s frustrating that the entertainment tabloids in Hong Kong really are so “entertaining”! All the newspaper stands filling the streets sell tabloids full of “negative energy.” People who get it think they can just buy and read gossip and be done with it. You are wrong. It’s just like committing suicide through slow poisoning. I leave, I don’t buy, I don’t look, and I really hope [the tabloids] don’t mention my name. It’s all for the sake of staying away from that devilish “negative energy”!
香港人当然也爱香港，很无奈香港的＂娱乐媒体的八卦杂志＂是＂＂娱乐＂千万不 错！满大街的报摊都卖着全＂负能量＂的娱乐消息。不明白的人就不知不觉地以为买了看了八卦完了就没事！你们错了，这样下去跟慢性中毒自杀无异，我离开我不买我不看更希望别提我的名字都是为了远离魔鬼的＂负能量＂保重！
Negative comments gathered on Wan’s posts, although he does have supporters on Weibo, too.
@温兆伦: Several days ago I expressed my “patriotism” on Weibo, attracting many “anti-patriotic” people who used so many words to insult Chinese culture and virtue. “Patriotism” is my personal choice, and these ignorant “anti-patriotic” people only expressed their frustration with society on my weibo. I very much understand your feelings, your attitude, and some of your experiences, but “we are born of the selfsame root, so why should we torment each other?” If there was no country, how could we have a family?
几天前我在微博表达了我“爱国”结果引来很多“反爱国”人士用各种文字侮辱中国文化的美德来表达。“爱国”是我个人的选择而无知无明的＂反爱国＂人士在我微博表达的只是对在社会生活的不满；你们的情绪，心态和某些经历我本人是非常理解但＂本是同根生，相煎何太急＂？没有国那有家？
Then Wan took an unusual step: he announced that his colleagues were handing over the IP addresses of Weibo users whose negative posts had been reposted more than 500 times. According to a new legal interpretation, false information shared online this many times could face up to three years in prison:
@温兆伦: Over the past two days some colleagues worked hard to trace harmful weibo posted under my name which were reposted over 500 times, and submitted the posters’ IP addresses to the relevant agencies to handle. For those that are very close to 500 reposts, I do hope you don’t reach that number, since you know the consequences better than I do! I have shut down the comment section because I don’t want to see you cause trouble because of a sudden impulse. What’s the point? “It’s not a crime to love your country!”
这两天辛苦几位同事把在我微博中发表和转发了超过五百次不良内容的博文，IP地址送交有关部门按祖国的法律去处理，有些还差几条才过500条转发的我希望你们不要达标因为后果你们都比我清楚！这两天我停止了让大家评论的目的是不希望看到大家为了一时的冲动而惹来麻烦，何必呢？＂爱国无罪＂！
Some users stand by Wan:
@redflower_青霰: Support the true, the good, and the beautiful. Be good citizens of the country. Deric is exquisite!!
支持真、善、美，做国家的好公民，阿伦够大气！！
@正道者鬼道3: China these days is a real freak show. The people who love their own country are being attacked on all sides.
当下的中国真是一个奇葩，爱自己的国家的人被围攻。
But others lambast him:
@剃了羊毛还有皮: Do you dare give up your Hong Kong residency and move your household registration to the mainland? That is your motherland!
你敢放弃香港居民身份，落户内地吗？那可是你的祖国啊！
@glimho: When did Deric Wan become a patriotic Internet commentator?
温兆伦神马时候变爱国网评员了？
@海豚阿德书店: No need to say anything further, join the Party.
什么都别说了，入党吧。
@假装在纽约: Report the IPs? Even an expert Fifty Center wouldn’t do that.
举报IP？连专业五毛都不会做的事。
@网易网友: Is this your country? The one where your king lets you eat ditch oil and genetically modified food? When did they ever see you as human beings? You’re a bunch of slaves without realizing it.
这是你们的国吗，你们的国王让你们吃地沟油让你们吃转基因，他们什么时候把你们当人看过。一群奴隶自己还不知道。
Wan remains undeterred:
@温兆伦: With all due respect to the media: over 90% of the comments on my weibo are supportive of patriotism. I firmly believe that 99% of the folks in my motherland are patriots. Why did the media write the headline “Deric Wan’s High-Profile Patriotism on Weibo Met with Insults,” rather than “Deric Wan Supported for Being Patriotic”? Does the buzz of a fly drown out the voices of 1.3 billion patriots? Thank you for the support from all the patriots! Sorry for the disturbance!
尊敬的媒体们：在我的微博里有百分之九十以上的评论表示赞同爱国，我坚决相信祖国也有百分之九十九的同胞都是爱国者。为什么媒体们都把新闻标题写上：温兆伦微博高调＂爱国＂遭辱骂？而不写＂温兆伦表示爱国获支持＂？难道小苍蝇的耳语都比不上十三亿爱国者的声音吗？感谢所有爱国者的支持！打扰了！
Read more comments at CDT Chinese.
Translation by Mengyu Dong.
