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The curious rise of the ‘white left’ as a Chinese internet insult

Meet the Chinese netizens who combine a hatred for the ‘white left’ with a love of US president Donald Trump.

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Internet cafe, Beijing, Flickr/Kai Hendry. Some rights reserved.

Internet cafe, Beijing, Flickr/Kai Hendry. Some rights reserved.

If you look at any thread about Trump, Islam or immigration on a Chinese social media platform these days, it’s impossible to avoid encountering the term baizuo (白左), or literally, the ‘white left’. It first emerged about two years ago, and yet has quickly become one of the most popular derogatory descriptions for Chinese netizens to discredit their opponents in online debates.