The memes are really about how deeply global digital life is embedded in Chinese-built systems – and how comfortable young people are with that
But beneath the humour of what looks like yet another disposable internet trend sits something more revealing. The meme is not really about wanting to be Chinese. It is about how deeply global digital life is embedded in Chinese-built systems, and how comfortable many younger users are becoming with that.
Many memes begin as in-jokes within online subcultures before spreading as shared language for collective unease or recognition. In this sense, memes often act as early warning systems. They surface changes in power, identity and belonging before people are ready to address them directly. “A very Chinese time” functions less as cultural role-play and more as a form of subconscious recognition.
Source: News - South China Morning Post
