From intangible culture heritage to political symbol – a study of milk tea, emotions, and the Pan-Asian pro-democratic movement

Abstract

This chapter explores the role of emotions associated with cultural heritage in political activism. Although researchers have examined what emotions inspire or deter different forms of socio-political movements, this chapter takes a new direction by considering what heritage items, online practices, and emotional stances are necessary to legitimate alliance building and energise the transnational pro-democratic movement among young Asians. The chapter examines Facebook content and Instagram hashtags as discourses of emotions regarding cultural heritage and social movements, with a focus on milk tea as a heritage symbol and the pan-Asian pro-democratic #MilkTeaAlliance movement. I argue that through everyday rituals of posting milk tea-related content on social media, including texts, illustrations, photos, cartoons, and memes, young Asian activists establish milk tea as a common cultural heritage, evoking emotions about their common past and the autocratic present, to justify a sense of closeness and build trust for alliance formation. In addition, drawing on the past regarding milk tea makes it a powerful political symbol for activists to express their anger towards political injustice and nurture the emotional commitment required to energise the pan-Asian pro-democratic movement in the long term.