I used keywords “region+dog” to search in Weibo and studied if these keywords mean the people of these regions. This survey is unscientific and I just want to let everybody to get a glimpse of how unpopular a region is. I got this idea because some netizen were unhappy with Weibo comments on Hong Kong and asked for help (arguing back) on forums. They indicated the location of these microblogs by telling others to search “Hong Kong Dog” 香港狗.
Here is the result
- Hong Kong Dog 香港狗
"Hong Kong Dog" Search in Weibo
My first search is “Hong Kong Dog” and I got 2289 results. All the microblogs on the first page, 21 in total, targeted to the people of Hong Kong. Someone posted the photo of Christina Chan and her boyfriend who was holding a paper-packed drink inside MTR compartment in 2008. It got 1241 comments and mostly condemned Hongkonger as “British lapdog”.
People also posted her involvement in Free Tibet campaign and continue to condemn Hongkonger as traitor of Chinese.
- Beijing Dog 北京狗
"Beijing Dog" Search on Weibo
My second search is “Beijing dog” and got 7688 results. However, Pekingese dog is called “Beijing dog” in Chinese, and Pug is also related to Pekingese so people mention it in this keyword. Among 20 microblogs on the first place, only 5 means the people of Beijing.
- Shanghai Dog (上海狗)
"Shanghai Dog" Search in Weibo
There are 2209 results. I have to skip the first page because most of the microblogs on this page shared the same animal video. Among 14 microblogs on the second page, 9 of them targeted to the people of Shanghai.
- Xinjiang Dog (新疆狗)
"Xinjiang Dog" Search in Weibo
There are 1898 results. Among 20 microblogs on the first page, 16 targeted to Uighur and are about crimes.
"Uighur and Police"
I searched other major provinces and cities and also included Tibet, the amount of results are much fewer than the four regions above.
[...] Now, I am thinking of writing an article called “the dark side of Weibo” based on this Hong Kong-China verbal war. Share this:FacebookPrintTwitterEmailDiggTumblrLinkedInStumbleUponRedditLike this:LikeBe the first [...]