Today (May 4) marks Youth Day in China. The celebration dates back to the May Fourth Movement in 1919, in which many young students protested in Beijing against imperialism and to express their dissatisfaction with the government signing the Versailles Treaty.
Last year, video platform Bilibili released a video called “The Next Wave” for Youth Day. The campaign, which featured inspiring messages from Chinese young people, sparked a lively discussion on social media. Some online users commended the video, commenting that:
“young people in China see the best version of China because they have access to the top technology and education.”
However, others offered a more nuanced view that China still has a large income gap between rural and urban areas which impacts young people’s experience.
“The Next Wave” in the video doesn’t represent all Chinese youths.
A comment from a netizen
This year, Bilibili, which is popular among China’s young, released another Youth Day themed video, “I don’t want to be this kind of person”. It contained statements from 955 students from junior high schools across the country.
“I don’t want to be an unfaithful person.”
“I don’t want to be an uneducated person.”
“I don’t want to be a person who gives up halfway.”
“I don’t want to be a person who forgets history.”
The video gained a lot of support from netizens, and the hashtag “#I don’t want to be this kind of person” (#我不想做这样的人#) gained 43.07 million views. Bilibili wasn’t the only organisation to celebrate Youth Day, China Media Group’s parent organisation CGTN also released a video for the occasion.
“During this year’s May 4, China Media Group (CMG) dedicates a video to today’s Chinese youth, who were born at a time of prosperity but still shoulder responsibilities, while showing their vigor and vitality, which reflect the hope of the Chinese nation.”
CGTN
Read more:
