Red Heart China

As I sign into my msn account, the top twenty names flash up with 'Red Heart China'. This is surely not coincidence.

When I asked my Chinese friends why they had added Red Heart China logo to their names, they were relatively brief with their explanations.
One friend told me, "I don't know, I see everybody had added, so I added."
Another told me; "Have you found that many Chinese msn have a "Red Heart China"? It means love China. It is a kind of unity, which shows that we love China."

But I was still interested in how it all began. Did somebody tell them to do this?
For this particular friend, like many others, it had been passed by word of mouth.
"My friend told me to do it".

A western friend, who had also added the Red Heart China symbol, was a little more enlightening.
"Hey mate, it's because of Tibet. Everyone is getting patriotic. Stand up to France mainly. People are boycotting French products. It's an Olympic torch issue".

According to China Daily, 2.3 million Chinese users have already added the Red Heart China onto their msn, either ahead of, or instead of their names. It's a spontaneous show of patriotism that is still growing by the minute. These people are being called Nationalist "Netizens".

I think that everyone has his or her own reasons for adding the Red Heart China logo. These days in China, the already patriotic people are becoming super proud of their country as the Olympics draw near. Whether they believe that it is a show of unity in support of Tibet, an Olympic torch issue or simply a fashion statement, I think is dependent upon the individual interpretation.