Chinese netizens call out foreign celebs for not showing support for 'One China'
The political tension between China and Taiwan has been getting stronger since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made an official visit to Taiwan on Tuesday (2 August).
In addition to China's official statement condemning the visit, Chinese state-owned broadcaster CCTV posted on their Weibo declaring that there is “only one China in this world”, referring to the political stance that Taiwan is a part of China.
Many Chinese celebrities, including those from Hong Kong and Taiwan, have shared CCTV’s post to show their support. Some of these celebs are Charmaine Sheh, Angela Chang, Rainie Yang, Joe Chen and Amber Kuo.
A Chinese netizen later posted on Weibo, filtering and naming the celebrities who have yet to share the “One China” post.
The list, which has since been deleted, had sorted them based on their nationalities, such as Singaporean, Malaysian, American, Canadian and Taiwanese.
Taking up the bulk of the list are Taiwanese celebrities, with Hebe Tien, who was accused of supporting Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan after posting pictures of herself eating pasta, and Aaron Yan, who was dubbed as “Taiwan independence advocate”, topping the list.
Some others include Ruby Lin, Jay Chou, Elva Hsiao, Jolin Tsai, Dee Hsu, Jeff Chang, Harlem Yu, Lin Chiling, Show Luo, Selina Jen, Ariel Lin, A-Mei, and Jam Hsiao.
The list goes on to mention Wilber Pan under American celebs, and Eddie Peng and Edison Chen under Canadian celebs. Even Singapore celebrities like JJ Lin, Jet Li, and Stefanie Sun, and Malaysian celebrities like Michelle Yeoh and Michael Wong, are not spared.
Many Chinese netizens agreed that the celebrities should be called out for not showing their support, with some jumping on the bandwagon to share their own lists. Several of these lists even name celebrities who are not even ethnically Chinese like BoA, G-Dragon, Blackpink members, Adele, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna.
Some Chinese netizens felt that there is no need for foreign celebrities to voice their opinions as they are not from China. Others thought that it was better for them to steer clear of political topics. But the original list creator rebutted that it is the duty of these celebrities to share the post if they’ve come to China to earn money.
“If they don’t share (the post), it’s obvious what kind of attitude they hold (towards China),” the creator wrote.
In China, it is a common practice for Chinese celebrities to re-post on Weibo as a form of showing their love and respect for the country. When there are key events or significant dates, such patriotic posts tend to circulate around Weibo. The “One China” post has now been shared more than 9.9 million times.
If you want to find out more about US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, here's what to know.
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