OMG #MilkTeaAlliance https://twitter.com/Policy/status/1379982377728974848
We were waiting for later this week for a longer thread - the #MilkTeaAnniversary is more like mid-April - but for those who can't wait, the thread below walks through how #MilkTeaAlliance came into being. It's Very Online. https://twitter.com/NiaoCollective/status/1320613362267545600?s=20
And this one collects protest art from HKers for our Thai friends in the #MilkTeaAlliance back in October https://twitter.com/NiaoCollective/status/1317907859238256644?s=20
And this one collects protest art from HKers for our Burmese friends in the #MilkTeaAlliance from February https://twitter.com/NiaoCollective/status/1361230011806724099?s=20
Last but not least - we're a movement without an official mascot/ Divine Beast, but the Rubber Ducky (we've been calling him Watt, the Duck) can *maybe* claim to be it: https://twitter.com/AntiOneChinaTH/status/1331496034787180544?s=20
Also, there's no General Meeting to confirm membership, and we're sure we're missing members, but if you want to follow the #MilkTeaAlliance gang:

@AllianceMilkTea
@MilkTeaMM_MTAM
@Milktea_Myanmar
@MilkTeaTH_MTAT
@MYmilkteh
@mta_PH
@IDmilktea
@milktea_iran (!?)
One more - for those who like protest art, @Raise2Fingers and @MKTmagic have been showcasing quite a lot. @MKTmagic were the ones who created the Milk Tea girls representing the original #MilkTeaAlliance crew of Taiwan, HK and Thailand 🙂: https://twitter.com/MKTmagic/status/1301849796978728968?s=20
Full list of emoji-fied terms... seems like Twitter says Korea should join the Alliance too 😬. The more the merrier!

#MilkTeaAlliance
#နို့လက်ဖက်ရည်မဟာမိတ်
#ชานมข้นกว่าเลือด
#พันธมิตรชานม
#밀크티동맹
#奶茶聯盟
#奶茶联盟
#nnevvy
For those who want a trip down memory lane: https://twitter.com/tracingtheworld/status/1249124881075183619?s=20
If the early skirmishes of the #MilkTeaAlliance seemed slight, it's worth noting it was a more innocent time just a year ago.

It was before #BLM, the fall of HK, Belarus elections, Lebanon explosion, Thai protests, #EndSARS , Indian farmers protest, Senegal, Myanmar coup...
The #MilkTeaAlliance is only part of the larger story of the people reclaiming their voices these past few years. Many other activists have bled for their causes - seeking equality, better governance, greater representation etc.

May we all find each other, and our peace.
*nods*

"Milk tea" is kinda perfect? We all drink tea, but in vastly different ways; and many did *not* start out drinking it with milk - that's a legacy of colonialism, we just... adapted.

Source: TG (April 2020)
https://twitter.com/jeannette_ng/status/1380368835069546498?s=20
The question has been posed in good faith & bad - why isn't PRC part of the #MilkTeaAlliance ?

Short answer: This has been mostly a Very Online Alliance on Twitter, and... most mainland Chinese citizens are just not on Twitter, because of GFW.

1/3 https://twitter.com/jeannette_ng/status/1380369304529539076?s=20
Longer: It'd be super cool to fight side by side with some human rights lawyer or labour rights activist on the mainland, but... *looks around*. VPNs aren't 100% secure, and some peeps are only on here for fandom stuff (which is fine!).

2/3
But this also means the loudest PRC *politics* accts here are likely those whose presence is condoned, and whose raison d'etre is to not engage in good faith.

The challenge is for MTA to not let that colour views on working with potential allies who *do* want democracy.

3/3
Very fluid! These appeared on the same day on Telegram, on had the original HK, Taiwan & Thailand, and the other imagined very pan-Asian, very handsome Alliance, with Vietnam and Philippines in the mix.

Source: TG (April 2020)

https://twitter.com/jeannette_ng/status/1380369887453970440?s=20
Very fluid! These appeared on the same day on Telegram, on had the original HK, Taiwan & Thailand, and the other imagined very pan-Asian, very handsome Alliance, with Vietnam and Philippines in the mix.Source: TG (April 2020) https://twitter.com/jeannette_ng/status/1380369887453970440?s=20
Very fluid! These appeared on the same day on Telegram, on had the original HK, Taiwan & Thailand, and the other imagined very pan-Asian, very handsome Alliance, with Vietnam and Philippines in the mix.Source: TG (April 2020) https://twitter.com/jeannette_ng/status/1380369887453970440?s=20
These were also from April - introduces some other potential #MilkTeaAlliance members - Mongolia (salty milk tea), Tibet (yak milk tea), East Turkestan/ the Uyghurs (butter milk tea!)...

Source: TG (April 2020)
These were also from April - introduces some other potential #MilkTeaAlliance members - Mongolia (salty milk tea), Tibet (yak milk tea), East Turkestan/ the Uyghurs (butter milk tea!)...Source: TG (April 2020)
These were also from April - introduces some other potential #MilkTeaAlliance members - Mongolia (salty milk tea), Tibet (yak milk tea), East Turkestan/ the Uyghurs (butter milk tea!)...Source: TG (April 2020)
These were also from April - introduces some other potential #MilkTeaAlliance members - Mongolia (salty milk tea), Tibet (yak milk tea), East Turkestan/ the Uyghurs (butter milk tea!)...Source: TG (April 2020)
In late June, after the China–India skirmishes in Ladakh resulted in casualties, the below appeared - #MilkTeaAlliance seems to have adopted India as a member. This one ... didn't really stick, but we'll see India again later.

Source: TG (June 2020)
In August, Belarus and Thailand protests kicked off. We've not tracked them in #MilkTeaAlliance art *proper*, but... over those few months, the movements standing together were HK, Thailand, Belarus... and Lebanon, who suffered a devastating explosion.

Source: TG (Sep/Oct 2020)
In August, Belarus and Thailand protests kicked off. We've not tracked them in #MilkTeaAlliance art *proper*, but... over those few months, the movements standing together were HK, Thailand, Belarus... and Lebanon, who suffered a devastating explosion.Source: TG (Sep/Oct 2020)
In August, Belarus and Thailand protests kicked off. We've not tracked them in #MilkTeaAlliance art *proper*, but... over those few months, the movements standing together were HK, Thailand, Belarus... and Lebanon, who suffered a devastating explosion.Source: TG (Sep/Oct 2020)
Belarus never truly 'left' either - the graffiti below was from HK, just a few weeks ago. It says

"Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times!"
"Myanmar, add oil!"
"Thailand, add oil!"
"Belarus, add oil!"

Source: TG (Mar 2021)
And... that support is mutual too. They gave the three-finger salute to #MilkTeaAlliance just a week ago. And the sign from a August March listed Iran, Lebanon, Ecuador and HK standing in solidarity. We will see Iran again...

Source: TG (Aug 2020)

https://twitter.com/bielorussi/status/1376198035244511240?s=20
In February, Myanmar saw a bloody coup which overthrew the democratically-elected government. The #MilkTeaAlliance grew, as did our hashtags, as we can see from @monkmonkii's doodle below. Note that #Tibet and #Uyghur are part of the list of causes.

Source: TG (Feb 2021)
February was when we saw India 're-enter' the #MilkTeaAlliance protest art, this time more focused on #IndianFarmerProtest which started in August 2020 against the government's new laws on agriculture. The protests are still ongoing. @MilkTea_India

Source: TG (Feb 2020)
February was when we saw India 're-enter' the #MilkTeaAlliance protest art, this time more focused on #IndianFarmerProtest which started in August 2020 against the government's new laws on agriculture. The protests are still ongoing. @MilkTea_India Source: TG (Feb 2020)
February was when we saw India 're-enter' the #MilkTeaAlliance protest art, this time more focused on #IndianFarmerProtest which started in August 2020 against the government's new laws on agriculture. The protests are still ongoing. @MilkTea_India Source: TG (Feb 2020)
Indonesia also started being featured in the #MilkTeaAlliance protest art. Indonesians have been protesting through 2020 over the 'Omnibus Law', which stripped away labour protection & relaxed environmental protections. @IDmilktea

Source: TG (Left: Feb 2020/ Right: 2019)
Indonesia also started being featured in the #MilkTeaAlliance protest art. Indonesians have been protesting through 2020 over the 'Omnibus Law', which stripped away labour protection & relaxed environmental protections. @IDmilktea Source: TG (Left: Feb 2020/ Right: 2019)
Indonesia also started being featured in the #MilkTeaAlliance protest art. Indonesians have been protesting through 2020 over the 'Omnibus Law', which stripped away labour protection & relaxed environmental protections. @IDmilktea Source: TG (Left: Feb 2020/ Right: 2019)
And then, there's Iran. We don't know why and when either. 😅 But China had signed some military agreement with Iran in 2020, which was not popular, and more importantly -what ties most of the MTA together - Iran had also seen protests 2019-2020. @MilkTea_Iran
Whoops, almost missed the Philippines! Our friends there have been protesting against Duterte since '16, and have been fighting last year to #JunkTerrorLaw, which like HK's NSL could be used against critics of the govt. @mta_PH

Source: TG (March 2021)

https://twitter.com/mta_PH/status/1318484876408991744?s=20
So, back to the original point - "membership" of the #MilkTeaAlliance is very fluid.

But more interesting is seeing how the many protest movements interacted, how activists expanded their networks, and shared strategies and shoulders to cry on.

Source: TG (Apr 2020)
Had things been a little different, the Alliance might have been the protest 'cohort' of 2019:

Chile, whose protest words- "We can't go back to normal, because 'normal' that existed is the problem."- crossed oceans and found its ways to HK...

Source: TG (L: Nov 19, R: Mar 20)
Had things been a little different, the Alliance might have been the protest 'cohort' of 2019: Chile, whose protest words- "We can't go back to normal, because 'normal' that existed is the problem."- crossed oceans and found its ways to HK...Source: TG (L: Nov 19, R: Mar 20)
Had things been a little different, the Alliance might have been the protest 'cohort' of 2019: Chile, whose protest words- "We can't go back to normal, because 'normal' that existed is the problem."- crossed oceans and found its ways to HK...Source: TG (L: Nov 19, R: Mar 20)
...or Lebanon, where graffitied hands reached across continents to HKers, where our demands for democracy & rights were theirs too...

Source: TG (2019)
The #MilkTeaAlliance has also supported #BlackLivesMatter , #EndSARS and #FreeSenegal most recently. 👇 Far away places, but there's a recognition of shared humanity, of common causes, of similar uphill battles against unyielding institutions. https://twitter.com/mta_PH/status/1368404829538684930?s=20
One lovely aspect of the #MilkTeaAlliance is it's allowed activists across the globe to join forces to protest for each other *IRL*. Joshua Wong called suspending sales of teargas to Thailand; Thai protesters rallied for him, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam. 😭

Source: TG Nov '20
One lovely aspect of the #MilkTeaAlliance is it's allowed activists across the globe to join forces to protest for each other *IRL*. Joshua Wong called suspending sales of teargas to Thailand; Thai protesters rallied for him, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam. Source: TG Nov '20
One lovely aspect of the #MilkTeaAlliance is it's allowed activists across the globe to join forces to protest for each other *IRL*. Joshua Wong called suspending sales of teargas to Thailand; Thai protesters rallied for him, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam. Source: TG Nov '20
But what's made #MilkTeaAlliance a balm for these cursed times is it's allowed activists to find each other. When photos of watercannons being used on Thais hit HK TG channels, the words that went with them were simple:

"We understand. And we stand with you."

Source: TG Oct '20
A lot of activists in the #MilkTeaAlliance are tired. The scars from fighting regimes/ tankies for years run deep, but it's hard to articulate the pain. If you understand, you don’t need the words, and if you don’t understand, no words would suffice.

Source: TG Sep '19
The #MilkTeaAlliance is where activists can resist, but also rest. No gaslighting, no one to tell you your struggle is fake, that you do not exist. Just support & understanding. From all corners of the globe.

This is solidarity.

Source: TG Feb '20
What's next for #MilkTeaAlliance ? Part of us hopes it won't have to grow bigger - no one should ever need to learn how to make put out teargas or build homemade shields to dodge live bullets.

Source: TG '20
But it's also encouraging to see activists build a vast network of allies & resistance knowledge over such short time, in the face of such bad odds. If #MilkTeaAlliance continues to grow, maybe it just means ppl more can find support in their fights for democracy.

Source: TG '20
Campaigns have focused on multinationals & forced labour. This comes after joint boycott efforts (eg. #BoycottMulan) & campaigns over ecological issues (eg. #StopMekongDam). And fierce fighting continues in Myanmar. That's a lot for a 1 year old Alliance.

Source: TG Feb '21
There's also the bigger fight that unites us in the #MilkTeaAlliance - *against* imperialism and *for* democracy.

We're just people, trying to live.
We're just people, trying to live free.

And so, to all our friends, fight on.

Liberation for all! Revolution of our times!
You can follow @NiaoCollective.
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