"Get these foreign agents out," says a Chinese rap group, for whom the protests in Hong Kong are the result of a Western conspiracy to forcibly force democracy into the autonomous territory. The song, broadcast on the Internet by the communist-era media, is the latest in Beijing propaganda aimed at discrediting the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.
Accompanied by a clip showing violence during demonstrations in the former British colony, the piece takes up the accusation of the Chinese media that the protest is in fact an attempt at a remote-controlled revolution from the outside.
"Hey democracy, we're going to find you in the Middle East," says the rap group CD Rev. "People throw bombs in the streets, if that's what you want, sorry, I do not agree," he said, echoing Beijing's accusations that the violence in Hong Kong are like terrorism. While denouncing "American hypocrisy," the video shows US President Donald Trump recalling that "Hong Kong is part of China."
Rap as a means of propaganda to youth
Another clip, broadcast by CCTV public television and the English-language daily China Daily on social networks, warns Hong Kong against the risk of becoming a "paradise of violence". "Screaming girls, stoned shops, you always bring her back with your justice?" Proclaims singer Gang Qilian, alternating between Chinese and Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong.
This is not the first time that the Chinese power has resorted to rap to try to get its message to young people: in March, the official agency China New had broadcast a clip celebrating hip-hop the very austere annual session of the parliament.