A picture used by Diba, an online forum, on its Sina Weibo account on Friday to call for members to denounce secessionism Photo: Diba's Sina Weibo

Amid escalating protests in Hong Kong, Chinese netizens on Saturday swept Facebook and Instagram to denounce secessionist posts and show support for Hong Kong police. 

From 7 pm Saturday, Net users posted pictures of Chinese maps and national flag under Apple Daily's Facebook posts. Some netizens posted lyrics such as "Five-star red flag, you are my pride." They also posted supportive words for Hong Kong police.

Apple Daily is known for its stance of supporting violent Hong Kong protesters. Netizen "Boyce Madeleine" posted an adapted version of song lyrics under the Apple Daily account: "You are in jail and trembling like in winter, I'm in Yale enjoying pleasant sunshine…" It was a reference to riot leader Nathan Law Kwun-chung leaving Hong Kong to study in Yale while calling on many of his peers to remain on the streets. 

Netizens also bombarded the Facebook account of Joshua Wong Chi-fung, a student leader of violent protests. Netizens also showed their support on Instagram for celebrities who were criticized after expressing support for Hong Kong police.

Netizens mobilized by Diba, a patriotic online forum, posted supportive words and comics under celebrities' posts, which used to be full of condemnation from those who had backed the rioters. The list included K-pop singer Jackson Wang and idol Ting Fei-chun, who were both born in Hong Kong. The action lasted about two and half hours. The announcement by Diba asked participants not to use profanity and protect their private information to avoid online manhunts by rioters.

A participant surnamed Liu told the Global Times on Sunday that despite risks of vicious manhunt by secessionists, he feels obliged to "defend our motherland." 

Liu's address and bank card information was disclosed before a July online action against rioters in Hong Kong. The action was later halted as organizers and participants were manhunted by secessionists. 

It is important to make our voices heard when the platform only has one side's words, Liu said. 

Diba announced the campaign on Friday and created 16 QQ chat groups for netizens willing to participate in and share information about the campaign. Each chat group has some 500 to 1,000 members. 

A picture used by Diba, an online forum, to show support for Hong Kong police on Saturday Photo: Sina Weibo

Newspaper headline: Patriotic netizens to fight secessionists online