Chinese Anime Piracy Groups Boycott Hong Kong Supporters; Creators Retaliate

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Anime often finds itself entering the real world in strange and idiosyncratic ways. Such is the case with several Chinese piracy groups boycotting Hong Kong supporters. In retaliation to these boycotts, a number of creators in Japan are retweeting some "lifehacks" that spread the word on their cause, with a hashtag that reads "HongKongHumanRightsAndDemocracyAct". In a world where anime has entered nearly all the crevices of pop culture, it is quite a sight to see how it influences the embroiled politics of several countries.

Twitter User OnTakahashi shared the story that saw Japanese "mangakas", aka those that that create manga in Japan, taking a swing at the numerous piracy groups by creating and sharing a hashtag that shows their solidarity behind those in Hong Kong and their cause:
 

LOL

Chinese piracy scanlation/subbing groups are "boycotting" Japanese creators who are supporting Hong Kong.

So now this "lifehack" is being used by some Japanese mangakas who are tweeting and RTing about the "HK Protestors". #HongKongHumanRightsandDemocracyAct https://t.co/p9rIDruPZT

— On Takahashi （高橋温） (@OnTakahashi) November 20, 2019

Anime piracy and "scanlations" have long been a part of the world of both anime and manga, with independent groups often translating language to release stories that would either be unable to be read in certain countries, or perhaps just because folks weren't looking to pay for said material.

Recently, the top four manga producers in Japan, including Shougakuken, Kodansha, Shueisha, and Kadokawa have stated their intentions of combating piracy, filing several lawsuits against a number of "scanlation" sites that print their material for free online. While unrelated to the current Hong Kong protests, its clear that the war between piracy groups and Japanese creators and producers is being fought on multiple fronts.