Outraged Chinese netizens urge Philippine mango boycott

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)ruled in favor of the Philippines in its historic case against China over the West Philippine Sea. While Filipinos all over the world were ecstatic with the victory, Chinese nationals were devastated with the loss.

Through China's social media platform, Weibo, Chinese netizens reportedly urged for a boycott of Philippine products, specifically the iconic mango, which is loved in almost every part of the world. A report of BBC said aside from slogans such as "If you want to eat mango, buy Thailand's" and "Starve the Filipinos to death" memes, the topics #SouthChinaSeaResult and #ChinaDoesn'tCareAboutYou have been among the top trending topics on the microblogging site since the ruling.

As BBC News reported, "Slogans like 'If you want to eat mango, buy Thailand's' and 'Starve the Filipinos to death' have been widely circulated on microblogging site Weibo." The report noted: "Even some vendors on Taobao, China's largest e-shopping platform, pledged to boycott the Filipino snack." The report qupted a Shanghai-based vendor on Taobao, who told state media outlet Global Times, "Our online shop will not sell Cebu mango from the Philippines and will not sell any snacks imported from the country anymore."

Aside from boycotting mangoes and other Philippine-made, some Chinese citizens are also opting to forego traveling to the Philippines. A report from The Straits Times published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted a Shanghai resident, who remarked: "Those islands and the seas surrounding them definitely belong to China, so I won't consider going (to the Philippines) in the near future."