Fenqing (simplified Chinese: 愤青; traditional Chinese: 憤青; pinyin: Fènqīng), or "FQ" (abbreviation), which is itself an abbreviation for Fennu Qingnian (simplified Chinese: 愤怒青年; traditional Chinese: 憤怒青年; pinyin: Fènnù Qīngnián), means literally "angry youth". It mainly refers to youth who display a high level of Chinese nationalism.[1] This term first appeared in Hong Kong in the 1970s, referring to those young people who were not satisfied with Chinese society and sought reform.[2] It has now evolved into a term used predominantly in Internet slang. Whether fenqing is derogatory or not usually depends on the person. Critics describe them with negative terms including "粪青"[3] (lit. "feces-youth", same pronunciation), which can be changed further to "fenfen" (Chinese: 粪粪; pinyin: fènfèn) as a derogatory nickname.
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The phenomenon of fenqing arose after the "reform and opening up" of the Chinese government, during the period of fast economic development that occurred in China.[1] Some people argue that fenqing are a natural reaction to recent neoconservatism in Japan and the neoconservatism in the United States. Fenqing and these foreign neo-conservative elements intensely dislike each other, but all of them share certain similarities: distrust of foreign powers, support for the military and boundary disputes, etc. [1] However, fenqing are not quite the same as Chinese neoconservatives.
As a group, fenqing are very diverse in their opinions. However, they are usually nationalistic and patriotic,[4] and very much concerned with political issues, especially those relating to Japan, Taiwan, Tibet, or the United States.[1]
They often harbour negative attitudes towards Japan due to the invasion and occupation of China by Imperial Japan, and support aggressive political stances towards Japan.[2] For example, many believe that the Japanese government's apologies for Japanese war crimes are insincere and inadequate (some even believe no apologies will ever be adequate). More recent incidents, such a former Japanese prime minister's patronage of the Yasukuni Shrine, territorial disputes surrounding the Senkaku Islands (known as Diaoyu in China), and the revisions of history textbooks by uyoku dantai (Japanese right-wing extremists), lead these young people to conclude that the Japanese government is again seeking to expand militarily. These anti-Japanese sentiments are not necessarily only directed against the Japanese government and military, but often fiercely towards the Japanese culture, economy, and people.
Some others may show hostility to South Korea rather than Japan, or even both, due to incidents such as the Seoul leg of the 2008 Olympic Torch Relay and 2007 Asian Winter Games Changbai Mountain protest. Many fenqing also believe that South Koreans are claiming the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China as their own.
The number of fenqing is roughly equal to that of half of Europe's population,[5] and mostly born between 1980 and 1989.[6]
Some support Chinese boycotts of Japanese products, for historical reasons and in reaction to events described above.[2] They may dislike Japanophiles and other Chinese who are Westernized, calling them Hanjian ("Race traitors"). Some view Taiwan as a part of China, and believe that Taiwan independence should be prevented by any means necessary. Many fenqing tend to consider war to be feasible, if not immediately necessary. A few may favor the use of nuclear weapons against Taiwan.
Some view American or Western attention to issues such as human rights, Falun Gong, Tibet, etc. as attempts to undermine the rise of China. Most support the ideal of democracy, but view Western attempts to spread democracy as self-serving, subversive propaganda. However, only a few truly believe in communism.
Some have the view that the Chinese government is invincible and justified at all cases. They may unconditionally defend all action by the Communist Party of China, or by Mao Zedong against countries they feel that "threaten China's rise".[7] However, others simply defend the Chinese government because they believe it to be better than an alternative government which they believe would be dominated by Westerners.
Some are very passionate about irredentist claims. In addition to the official claims made by the People's Republic of China, such as Taiwan, Arunachal Pradesh, the Senkaku Islands, and the South China Sea Islands, some fenqing also make irredentist claims to Outer Mongolia, Tuva, Outer Manchuria, the Hukawng Valley of northern Myanmar, parts of Central Asia east of Lake Balkhash, Bhutan, Ladakh, and Sikkim.
Fenqing can be divided into several categories. Based on economics: left Fenqing, who care most about the poor, advocate social security policies, and despise what they call the "elites" of China; Maoist Fenqing, a small minority who support Mao and advocate a return to the Mao era, generally unpopular; and right Fenqing, those who support a free-market economy with a gradual transition to democracy after China's living standards approach the west.
They generally abhor political corruption within the government and government organizations. They also generally perceive the government as being too nice or ineffectual in a variety of issues, such as the Taiwan Straits, relations with Japan or the U.S., and Tibetan and Xinjiang independence.
For some their role models are Lu Xun and the activists of the May Fourth Movement. Some fenqing believe if Lu Xun were still alive today, he would continue fiercely criticizing the government.
The Chinese Communist party does not officially espouse Han chauvinism. It espouses Zhonghua minzu nationalism, which emphasizes assimilation into a modern nation of multiethnic origins, and emphasizes the Zhonghua nation's modern-era struggles against the "Imperialists": the West and Japan, and the historical multiethnic Zhonghua nation's insistence on unity under and single imperial state.
Han Chauvinism is a little twist of Zhonghua nationalism. Han Chauvinism certainly agrees with Zhonghua nationalism that half of all imperial states which were of Han origin, were indeed founded on military and iron-fisted centralized and unified rule.
However, Han Chauvinism also disagrees with Zhonghua nationalism's incorporation of these other imperial dynasties, which were not of Han origins, into official historiography. They revile Zhonghua nationalism as an ineffective Stalinistic construct by the marxist state, which glorifies Barbarian alien invader empires such as Manchu Qing and Mongol Yuan.
Han Chauvinists exist in abundance south of the Huai river, concentrated in several centers such as Wuhan of Hubei Province, Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province, Zhengzhou of Henan Province, Nanjing of Jiangsu Province, and Guangzhou of Guangdong Province.
Beijing's Zhonghua nationalism would be one that emphasize the People's Republic's control over major Qing-incorporated ethnic regions such as Inner Mongolia.
When events like the Tibetan and Urumqi riots happen, the militant responses from Zhonghua Nationalists and Han Nationalists would not be very different. Many Chinese nationalists often switch camps between Zhonghua and Han.
Militant nationalist websites, whether Zhonghua or Han, are often suppressed by the government because they appear to be elevating popular discussions into political levels. The government simply has a habit of clamping down on any kind of political discussions to prevent them from becoming ideologies that can replace official Zhonghua-Marxo-Capitalism.
Zhonghua nationalist websites tend to style themselves as "ultra-left socialist", venerating Mao as an anti-colonial icon over his capitalist successors, and identify Japan and US as their prime enemies, and focus very heavily on the goal of militarily invading Taiwan. Uyghurs and Tibetans are discussed as if they are mainly law abiding Zhonghua citizens, with a minority elements instigated by overseas "separatist exiles".
However, Han Nationalist websites often style themselves as right-wing. They venerate Chiang Kai-Shek and Sun Yat-Sen as heroes that overthrew the Barbaric Qing Dynasty. They are often less vocal against the Japanese and Americans. They are extremely hateful of ethnic minorities Mongolians, Uyghurs, and especially Manchus, often advocating the reversal of the birth control policies which seem to give more advantages to the minorities.
  | Angry Youth - Letter from China: Angry Youth : The New Yorker |
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