Twitter launches 'Milk Tea Alliance' emoji as movement grows

FILE PHOTO: The Twitter logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Social media giant Twitter on Thursday launched an emoji for the Milk Tea Alliance, a global online pro-democracy movement that has united anti-Beijing campaigners in Hong Kong and Taiwan with protesters in Thailand, Myanmar and beyond.

Activists welcomed the announcement of the emoji - a white cup set against a background of three colours representing different shades of milk tea in Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan - for the first anniversary of the movement.