Chinese actor, singer and songwriter Jay Chou whilst participating in the AO 1 Point Slam ahead of the 2026 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 14, 2026 in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: VCG

Though Taiwan-born Mandopop superstar Jay Chou Chieh-lun has expectedly suffered a first-round exit to Australian player Petar Jovic with an ace serve at an Australian Open promotional event, his designation as CHN, the sports code for Chinese mainland, at the event has unexpectedly sparked attention and discussion among Chinese netizens across the Straits on social media on Wednesday.

Chou is considered one of the most influential singers in the Chinese-speaking world with a career spanning more than two decades so far. The number of his Instagram followers has reached 10.9 million. Chou has publicly voiced that he is a Chinese and backed by the mainland fans. Many of Chou's songs feature Chinese-style elements. He has also made philanthropic donations to the China Charity Federation at multiple times.  

The Global Times noticed that on the official draw of the event, Chou is shown being labeled with CHN, instead of Chinese Taipei-referring TPE, the name commonly used by sports bodies and athletes from the China's Taiwan region where Chou was born. The draw labeled female professional player Joanna Garland who competes for Chinese Taipei with the term TPE.

The draw of the an Australian Open (AO) promotional event: screenshot from AO website

While the labeling difference appeared to be a technical detail in an exhibition-style event, it soon escalated into a broader online discussion, drawing polarized reactions across Chinese-language social media platforms. Some pro-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) netizens in the island attacked Chou, calling for a boycott over Chou on social media, more Taiwan based net users expressed support. 

"Taiwan is a province of China which is globally recognized. Is it a problem?" a Taiwan net user expressed support to Chou and the event organizer's arrangement under udn.com's Facebook post. The comment received the most likes in the comment section, with nearly forty likes.

"Pro-DPP online activists must be heartbroken to hear this," A popular comment on udn.com's Facebook post reads. "Even Chou himself did not protest against it, what does those DPP advocates opposing for?" another Taiwan-based netizen posted on Facebook. 

SETN, local media outlet of the island, speculates that the labeling difference was due to Chou being invited as a celebrity rather than a professional player, making his labeling not following the international sports practice. 

On the other side of the Taiwan Straits, Chinese mainland netizens showed strong support for Jay Chou. From the reporter's observations, discussions largely centered on the hilariously relatable moment when Chou was eliminated without even touching the ball—standing frozen in place as the point ended in an instant—while his designation as "CHN" felt "entirely normal and natural" to them.

"What's there for DPP supporters to be surprised about? Jay Chou has been saying he's Chinese ever since his debut," a Sina Weibo user commented.

Chou's presence at the Australian Open dominated the sports section of trending topics, with Chou faces "Australian Open first-round exit" tops the list.

"Just as I expected I didn't even touch the ball," Chou posted on Instagram after the match. "From now on, besides practicing tennis, I also need to practice rock-paper-scissors. The winner gets to choose who serves," he joked.

The Australian Open official Weibo account said though Chou's participation in One Point Slam was short-lived, "But just stepping onto the court was already awesome."

Many Chinese netizens voiced their support on Chou's presence at the Australian Open event. One comment on Sina Weibo reads "Next time let's try to serve, or at least touch the ball. But still super cool today, Chinese tennis player Jay Chou."

"It's worth noting that one player from Chinese Taipei is listed as TPE, while Jay Chou is listed as CHN," another Weibo user posted. "This shows that during the player information collection stage, entries were made according to how each party submitted their information. Jay Chou himself, like any normal person, recognizes and uses CHN. He's always been straightforward about it, never vague or evasive."