BEIJING — China’s social media users were in an uproar yesterday over viral footage of an Asian man dragged off an overbooked United Airlines flight, decrying perceived racism and calling for a boycott.

The videos taken by fellow passengers and posted on Twitter showed the man being pulled screaming from his seat by security personnel.

Footage of the Sunday showdown on the flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky was reposted to China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo, where the subject quickly became the top-trending topic, garnering more than 270 million views and 150,000 comments — many of them highly nationalistic in tone.

“Shameless! We won’t forgive them. Ethnic Chinese around the world please boycott United Airlines!” wrote one commentator.

“There is a long history of discrimination against Asians. I hope Chinese people realise this reality and support domestic products,” another user said. “Don’t feed those who look down on us!”

Speaking to The Washington Post, fellow passenger Tyler Bridges said of the man removed from the aircraft: “He said, more or less, ‘I’m being selected because I’m Chinese’.”

It is a common sentiment among many mainlanders to view ethnic Chinese living abroad — even those with no ties to China — as compatriots.

United Airlines claims to be the biggest carrier to China, with more non-stop United States-China flights, and to more Chinese cities, than any other airline, according to its website.

The episode was also prominently displayed across Chinese media yesterday.

CCTV, the state broadcaster, showed photos of the passenger’s bloodied face above the word, “Savage!” People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s flagship newspaper, scolded United for failing to condemn the man’s treatment. AGENCIES