Nationalism unleashed

China is whipping up public anger against South Korea

It is wary of going too far

民族主义的宣泄  嘿嘿煽动民众抵制韩国  一旦过度会很危险

THE aisles at Lotte Mart in Beijing’s Wangjing district were strangely quiet early this week. A few elderly shoppers pushed trolleys; shop assistants tidied the supermarket’s shelves. Customers have been scarce since “something happened” a few weeks ago, says one cashier. That event was a deal signed on February 28th by Lotte, a South Korean firm, allowing America to build an anti-missile system on land the company owns in South Korea. China’s government has responded by encouraging an outpouring of public anger directed not just at Lotte, whose shops in China are now being boycotted, but almost anything South Korean.

本周早些时候北京王府井大街上的乐天超市静得出奇。一些老人推着购物车买东西；店员整理超市的货柜。因为一星期前发生了一些事所以买东西的人很少。事情源于一份协议的签订，2月28号韩国的乐天集团允许美国在其名下的土地建立反导系统。中国政府通过煽动民怨的直接宣泄来回应，抵制不仅针对在华的乐天超市，所有与韩国相关的企业都受到牵连。

Nationalism is a familiar weapon in China’s diplomatic armoury. The last time the government made such a sustained effort to whip it up was in 2012, shortly before Xi Jinping came to power, when officials encouraged protests against Japan’s nationalisation of islands it controls in the East China Sea that are also claimed by China. South Korea is not a usual target. But China is furious at its decision to deploy the missile-defence system, known as THAAD (the first components of which arrived in South Korea on March 6th). America says THAAD will help defend the peninsula against North Korea. China says America will use the system’s powerful radar to “snoop” on its missiles too, reducing their potency as a deterrent.

民族主义是嘿嘿惯用的伎俩。上次嘿嘿发起的持续性抵制行为是2012年，不久之后Exeye上台，嘿嘿鼓励民众抵制日本将其在东海控制的岛屿国有化，并声称钓鱼岛是中国的。韩国并不是中国的宿敌。但中国十分愤怒韩国采用反导系统，即著名的萨德反导系统（首批设备于3月6号抵达韩国）。美国称萨德系统帮助韩国应对朝鲜。中国认为美方同时利用该系统强大的雷达侦测本国导弹，削弱了自身的武力。

In recent weeks state media have been publishing daily attacks on South Korea’s “erroneous decision”. The Global Times, a jingoistic newspaper in Beijing, has encouraged Chinese consumers to “become the main force in teaching Seoul a lesson”. It said they should “make it hurt”.

近几周，官媒天天攻击韩国的错误决定。环球时报是北京的一个极端爱国报刊，鼓励中国消费者当教训韩国的主力军，一定要让韩国疼。

Censors often try to rein in online discussion when it threatens to boil over into real-world protests. But they are allowing netizens to vent rage at South Korea. One group of online nationalists called on “all patriots to unite and show South Korea what we can do”. A famous beauty blogger exhorted the 2.7m followers of her microblog to boycott goods from the country and not to travel to it. A patriotic pop-song has been played more than 3.5m times since its release on March 8th. It includes the lyrics: “Chinese sons and daughters must stand up; everybody, stop buying Lotte; make them get out of China fast.”

当局通常会当网上讨论有变成现实对抗风险的时候清除言论。但他们允许网民对韩国泄恨。一群网上的爱国主义者称“所有的爱国人士应该团结起来让韩国知道我们的厉害”。一位著名的美女博主号召她270万粉丝抵制韩国货和韩国游。一首爱国流行歌曲自3月8号以来已经播放超过350万次。它的歌词“中华儿女都应该站起来，大家一起都不买乐天货,让它快一点滚出中国"(谢天明将一首老歌《爱的奉献》重新填词，创作反萨德的歌曲《抵制歌》。当然歌曲已被和谐，今天彭阿姨还专门去乐天示好，投机者和义和团被打脸，啪啪啪)

Lotte owns about 100 supermarkets in China, as well as other businesses. They have been badly hit. The company has been subjected to sudden and simultaneous tax and safety inspections. Ten of its shops have been shut for violating fire codes. The website of Lotte Duty Free crashed after a cyber-attack. Several e-commerce sites have stopped selling Lotte’s goods and some suppliers have ceased doing business with the company.

乐天集团在华拥有100家超市和其他业务，他们遭受严重打击。乐天突然遭到税收和消防安全的同时调查。10家店因为违反消防规定被关闭。乐天免税店的官网也被黑了。一些电商网站下架乐天的产品，有些供应商停止与乐天的合作。（动用国家机器惩罚一个企业，“霸气”? 违反了WTO原则）

The tourism industry has also been disrupted. South Korea is normally a popular destination, but many Chinese travel agencies have recently reduced or halted trips there (seemingly on the government’s orders). Others have been warning customers that it is dangerous to go. Airlines from both countries have been reducing services. On March 11th about 3,000 Chinese tourists refused to leave their ship when it docked at the South Korean resort of Jeju, apparently in protest against THAAD.

韩国旅游业同样难以幸免于难。通常韩国是热门的旅游目的地，但很多中国旅行社最近减少或取消了线路（看起来是政府的意思）。其他人警告中国顾客韩国很危险不要去。两国的航班被取消。3月11号大约3000名中国游客拒绝从停靠在济州岛的游轮上下去，很显然是因为抵制萨德。

The Chinese government may be relishing the opportunity that THAAD has provided to push back against what officials sometimes call South Korea’s “cultural infiltration”: its popular music (“K-pop”) and television dramas have huge Chinese followings. No South Korean artist has been granted approval to perform in China since September. Appearances by a famous South Korean soprano, a concert pianist and a popular boy-band, EXO, have all been cancelled. Companies and TV stations have been urged to “fine-tune” performances by South Koreans: a K-pop star had his face blurred on a reality show. Chinese streaming platforms have removed some South Korean programmes. South Korean celebrities now find it hard to renew advertising contracts in China.

嘿嘿也可能趁反萨德的机会来抵制他们曾认为的韩流入侵。韩国的流行歌、电视剧在中国有相当规模的观众。自去年九月以来没有韩国艺人被允许在中国演出。结果韩国著名的女高音、钢琴演奏家和流行男团EXO都被取消。娱乐公司和电视台紧跟着微调韩国的演出：一个真人秀中韩国艺人的脸被打马赛克。中国娱乐流行市场也删除了韩国节目。韩国艺人现在发现很难在中国续签广告合同。（这期《歌手》没有韩国歌王来耍，哈萨克小伙迪玛希得感谢禁韩令？）

Careful calibration 谨慎拿捏尺度

But China’s leaders worry about any popular movement that does not involve the Communist Party—even one that is led by nationalists who profess to be on the government’s side. Mr Xi, despite his own nationalist rhetoric, has been wary of letting passions flare too high. Officials tried to dampen them last year when a tribunal in The Hague rejected China’s claims in the South China Sea. Only a few small protests erupted. The party’s main mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, praised the public’s low-key response at the time as evidence of a “brand-new level of patriotism”.

但嘿嘿害怕任何没有党领导的群众运动，即便活动是由倾向政府的爱国主义者领导。尽管嘿嘿自己有民族主义的言论，但他害怕反韩情绪过于高涨。去年国际海牙法庭驳回中国声称南中国海主权官方却压制群众。只有极少的抵制活动发生。人民日报称赞民众此时低水平的回应是爱国主义的新形式。（09年访墨西哥：“有些吃饱了没事干的外国人，对我们的事情指手划脚。中国一不输出革命，二不输出饥饿和贫困，三不去折腾你们还有什么好说的。”）

In the case of THAAD, the government clearly believes that a more heated public response may persuade South Korea’s next president, who is due to be chosen in May, to reconsider its deployment (see article). But officials are still anxious. There were more police outside Wangjing’s Lotte Mart this week than customers inside. Some dozed in vans, waiting in case of trouble.

抵制萨德这件事儿上，嘿嘿很明确热情高涨的公众回应会施压韩国下一届总统（五月份选举）重新考虑它的外交政策。即便如此，嘿嘿仍然焦虑。本周望京乐天店外面增多的警察人数比里面的客人还多。有的窝在车里，随时待命应对突发状况。（金大中时期就有阳光政策，后被证明失败）

A protest against South Korea on March 5th in the north-eastern city of Jilin conveyed a hint of what the government fears: that protesters may use displays of patriotism to vent other grievances. Some demonstrators in Jilin carried portraits of Mao Zedong (pictured). Despite appearances, these do not necessarily suggest agreement with the party line. People sometimes use them to poke at the current leadership—Mao symbolises an era that was, as some Chinese remember it, a better one for the underprivileged. Mr Xi worries about THAAD, but trouble at home disturbs him more.

三月五号发生在东北吉林的反韩活动反映出嘿嘿的担心：反抗者可能利用爱国主义表达其他的不满。有些吉林的游行示威者带着毛泽东的画像。尽管反韩看起来是这种姿态，但不代表他们他们和政府一条心。人们有时候用毛像讽刺当局----毛标志了一个时代，一些中国人记忆中是对于劳苦大众来说更加美好的时代。虽然嘿嘿担心萨德，但更担心国内的矛盾（义和团扶清灭洋，攘外必先安内的不得已）。

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背景知识补上，看看反萨德从开始都结束背后的“尴尬逻辑”。吃瓜喝水，抗日反美。