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Paper short abstract:

This article explores the reasons why young protesters from different Asian countries choose milk tea as a shared experience to protest against authoritarianism and how the current movement relies on the Internet to break through the limitations of language, nationality and ideology.

Paper long abstract:

At the Asia Network in April 2020, the Milk Tea Alliance, a multinational youth network based on Asian youth's desire for democracy and social change, was quickly formed. Young protesters have adopted the simple combination of milk and tea as their movement's logo, echoing a common political demand. The movement has been regarded as one of the cores of the modern globalization process and has assumed the function of an organized response in the relations of labour and capitalist production. Historically, though, the abour involved in such social movements have been limited by national borders. But in the context of globalization, today's labour will rely on the Internet to break national boundaries and establish wider connections with individuals.

Therefore, based on this new form of alliance, this paper discusses how young people in Asia form alliances across political and geographical borders to fight against China's huge influence on the Internet. Due to globalization and the epidemic, a new generation of political movements will use the Internet as a basic battlefield to share their experiences and then translate them into real-world movements. Simultaneously, the revolt of this generation of youth will no longer be confined by language, nationality and ideology, but will form a broader unity and echo based on a common political goal.