After Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai called for the liberation of Hong Kong, Blizzard suspended the Hearthstone player and withheld his prize money. The decision has been widely criticized. Fans have now started posting images of Overwatch hero Mei supporting the Hong Kong protests as a show of solidarity.
In Overwatch, Mei hails from Xi’an, China. By turning her into a symbol of the Hong Kong resistance, fans are showing the character standing up to Chinese rule while thumbing their noses at Blizzard.
Photoshops originated on r/HongKong (here and here) with Redditors encouraging each other to share the images. Twitter users have also been uploading images.
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1181753535349673984
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1181743956608069632
— Rils (@RilsRislan) October 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1181799662493171712
Mei says free Hong Kong pic.twitter.com/5qzBwTjm8A
— cam (@insomani4c) October 9, 2019
My photoshops are nothing if not both lazy and fast, but still.#HongKongProtest #Blizzardboycott pic.twitter.com/nsE1VWl0e3
— Kaipo 🐀 (@Kaipo_Rozwolf) October 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1181798447801782273
Let's get back at Blizzard by making Mei a pro-democracy symbol! Courtesy of r/HongKong#HongKongProtest #BoycottBlizzard pic.twitter.com/vYNVBCgMxM
— I'm tired (@opinion505) October 8, 2019
Mei from Overwatch supports za Hong Kong Protests! #Blizzardboycott #HongKongProtest pic.twitter.com/rh9dUCY2YA
— Chips n Salsa (@SaxophoneJerry) October 9, 2019
— iEnvyClouds (@Alexandria09299) October 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/embed/status/1181801729542615040
#blitzchung #FreeHongKong pic.twitter.com/Q64taPqwBL
— FinnishPete (@petterituovinen) October 9, 2019
Mei isn’t the only Overwatch character being used to show support for the Hong Kong protests.
