LIFE / CULTURE
Obstruction and irony cannot stop young celebrities from Taiwan and Hong Kong paying tribute to Chinese mainland PLA martyrs
Published: Feb 23, 2021 05:58 PM

File photo



Young celebrity Ouyang Nana from the island of Taiwan forwarded a Sina Weibo post from the People's Daily that paid tribute to the PLA martyrs killed in the Galwan Valley border clash with India on Saturday, getting support from Sina Weibo users but causing her to become the center of attacks by Taiwan media. 

Lai Guanlin from Taiwan, a former member of South Korean boy band Wanna One, had a similar experience.

The two stars from Taiwan both forwarded posts from the People's Daily and China Central Television (CCTV) on Saturday along with the hashtag "We cannot lose an inch of our motherland," which was highlighted by some media in Taiwan.

"Salute to the frontier heroes, thank you for your protection of great rivers and mountains," Ouyang's Sina Weibo post said.

According to Shanghai-based news outlet guangcha.cn, some Taiwan media mocked Ouyang and Lai in a report, saying that the two are often heard mentioning the "motherland" all the time.

Sina Weibo users stood with the idols and applauded them for their patriotic stance, commenting that young idols from Taiwan Province and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region should behave like them and have the correct political stance.

"The correct stance to protect the motherland's sovereignty and territorial integrity is the minimum threshold of every celebrity, no matter which part of China they are from. PLA soldiers safeguard us on the frontlines and we also need to stand with them all the time," a Chinese fan of Lai surnamed Xu told the Global Times on Tuesday. 

"I am glad that Lai posted that."

On several occasions, the regional media and even the authorities in Taiwan have mocked entertainers or obstructed them from taking part in activities in the Chinese mainland.

In 2020, the island of Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) urged Taiwan-born entertainers not to attend a Chinese mainland gala for the National Day holiday.

Besides Ouyang, who sang a song titled "My Motherland" with other mainland performers, Taiwan-born singer Angela Chang also performed an anti-epidemic-themed song with other artists, according to CCTV.

But their participation in the gala was objected to by Taiwan regional authorities. 

"Taiwan entertainers should consider 'national dignity,' social impact and related laws when attending activities in the mainland," the MAC said.

Ouyang did not take these threats serious, and later accepted another invitation from CCTV to attend a 2021 Spring Festival gala, which was also mocked by the Taiwan media.

Hong Kong celebrities have also shown their patriotism.

Hong Kong idol Elkie (Chong Tingyan), a former member of South Korean girl band CLC, posted patriotic messages on Sina Weibo and overseas social media platform Instagram recently to pay homage to China's frontier soldiers.

Other popular stars born in Hong Kong such as William Chan and Jackson Wang have expressed patriotism for their motherland as well as pride for being Chinese.