Censors in #China have deleted references to a viral video that spawned the "last generation" meme, which emerged as a form of protest over ongoing lockdowns, mass incarcerations and compulsory testing under its zero-COVID policy. rfa.org/english/news/c…
In the video, PPE-clad police officials turn up outside someone's apartment and tries to force them to go to an isolation camp even though he had recently tested negative for coronovirus.
"We're negative. You have no right to take us away," the man says, before a police officer steps forward wagging a finger and says: "You know that we will punish you, right? And when that happens, it will have a bad effect on your family for three generations."
"Sorry. We're the last generation," the man replies in the video which began circulating on Chinese social media platforms from May 11, garnering huge numbers of views and comments.
Searches for the video or the keywords "last generation" yielded no results on Thursday.
The meme has apparently fed in to a culture of passive resistance begun with the "lying down" movement of 2021.
The meme has apparently fed in to a culture of passive resistance begun with the "lying down" movement of 2021.
Some have joked online that the era from 1966 onwards was all about the innocence of revolution and justified rebellion, while the 1989 pro-democracy movement felt it was their "duty" to protest.
A related meme talks about the study of "run," a Chinese character that echoes the English word "run," meaning finding ways to leave the country.
The memes come at a time when the CCP is hoping to get people to have more children amid concerns over a rapidly aging and dwindling population.
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