Hong Kong protesters and mainland gamers clash in Grand Theft Auto V Online
An epic fight broke out in the hit game from Rockstar Games after players dressed up as protesters and riot police equipped with water cannons
After nearly seven months of protests in Hong Kong, the image of a “typical” protester in the movement has become instantly recognizable: Black garb, yellow hardhat, tear gas mask and maybe a petrol bomb in hand.
The look is easy enough to replicate. So much so that gamers are now doing it in Grand Theft Auto V Online.
With the new Diamond Casino Heist update adding more clothing items to the game, players found that they can put together an outfit that makes them look a lot like a Hong Kong protester. So people are going online to promote taking up their cause in GTA V.
On Hong Kong online forum LIHKG, gamers are encouraging each other to buy the set of clothing that they’ve dubbed the “Glory to Hong Kong” suit and join a “crew” named Stand With Hong Kong. The crew has been going on violent outings in the game, trashing subway stations and throwing Molotov cocktails at police vehicles.
Given everything at players’ disposal in the game, the fights in GTA V were more than mild virtual scuffles. Both sides accused each other of firing the first shot. And once mainland gamers overwhelmed Hong Kong gamers by showing up en masse, some Hong Kong players took to social media to complain that there weren’t more Hongkongers joining the fights.
The furious gamer continued, “I want to ask: How do you qualify to wear the [black] shirt? Are you doing right by the name of our crew? Where have you stood with Hong Kong?”
“Now that they are provoked, these cockroaches said that they are returning to GTA 5 to beat us up. From this point on, the fire will only burn brighter in the game. Are we ready?” he wrote.
But some mainland gamers would much rather leave politics out of the game. They said that Hong Kong gamers are trying to use GTA V to keep the spirit of the movement alive. They also worry whether the game could wind up blocked in China if GTA V becomes more politicized.
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