Home News Sport More

Menu

Asia China India

Tokyo Olympics: Taiwan stars trolled by

Chinese nationalists
8 hours ago

GETTY IMAGES

Dee Hsu is one of the most well-known media personalities in the Chinese speaking world

Taiwanese TV host Dee Hsu and pop star Jolin Tsai have become the latest
target of nationalist Chinese online. Their crime? Celebrating Taiwanese
athletes in the Olympics.

Hsu addressed Taiwan's Olympians as "national players" online, while Jolin

Tsai had congratulated some of them for their victories.

The posts have been interpreted as support for Taiwan's independence.

Hsu's Instagram post was meant to be a joke but the damage had been done.

She had posted about wanting to invite "our national players" to her house
She had posted about wanting to invite "our national players" to her house.

Hsu has since deleted the comment, but it has not stopped several high-
profile brands like Unilever's haircare brand Clear, sex toy maker Osuga, and
so drink maker Shou Quan Zhai from cutting ties with her,

"National interest is above all, (we) firmly uphold the one China principle," the
drinks company wrote on microblogging platform Weibo.

Tensions between China and Taiwan have soared in recent years.

An increase in military activity in Taiwan over the last few months has caused
global concern.

The Chinese government sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that will,

eventually, be part of the country again.

Many Taiwanese people disagree. They feel they in effect have a separate
nation - whether or not independence is ever officially declared.

According to local media, the brand terminations are expected to cost the 43-
year-old TV host at least NT$32m (US$1.1m; £825,260).

This was not the only Olympics-related controversy for the embattled TV host
- who is one of the most well-known media personalities in the Chinese-
speaking world.

Chinese social media users were also outraged when she showed support for
Taiwan's Tai Tzu-ying aer her badminton single's final against China's Chen
Yufei.

"Despite your defeat I am still proud of you," she had said on Instagram when
Tai took the silver medal aer a close match.

Her Instagram and Weibo pages have since been inundated with angry
comments from Chinese users, with many calling her a "traitor".

"If you're going to support Taiwan independence, don't ever come to mainland
China to make money again. You can't have both," one Weibo user said.

Meanwhile, pop star Tsai was condemned for not publicly showing support for
China's athletes along with her posts on Taiwanese Olympians.

"Don't kowtow to Chinese renminbi anymore, you're despicable," a Weibo

comment read.

Related Topics

China Taiwan
 China Taiwan

More on this story

Chinese nationalists turn on Olympic athletes

1 day ago

Chinese gold medallists probed over Mao badges

19 hours ago

What's behind the China-Taiwan divide?

26 May

Top Stories

Tokyo 2020: Skateboarding and athletics

Watch action from day 12 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, listen to radio and follow live text updates.

20 hours ago

USA's McLaughlin smashes 400m hurdles world record

6 hours ago

Activist who took on Belarus president goes on trial

20 minutes ago

Features

‘The day our city explodedʼ The downfall of Nissan's Carlos Ghosn: An
insider's view
Barbra Streisand: 'I have the right to sing ‘I donʼt want to spend my life on the
what I want' streetsʼ

CEO: 'Was Airbnb really a good idea?' Democrats, despots and the fight for
power in Tunisia

BBC Future: Is water always the best way The secrets Olympians are revealing on
to hydrate? TikTok

Olympics sparks anti-LGBT slurs on

Russian TV
Elsewhere on the BBC

Lyrics quiz Feeling hot

Have you been getting these songs wrong? What happens to your body in extreme heat?

Most Read

Gomez criticises 'tasteless' TV transplant joke 1

US couple who pointed guns at protesters pardoned 2

Belarus activist who refused deportation on trial 3

Indian outrage aer cremation of 'rape victim' 4

Hikers' plea for help aer positive Covid test 5

Obama scales back birthday party as Covid rises 6

Suspected hijacking off UAE over says Royal Navy 7

Barbra Streisand: 'I have the right to sing what I want' 8

Three dead in train crash near Czech-German border 9

Belarus Olympic athlete flies out of Japan 10

BBC News Services

On your mobile

On smart speakers

Get news alerts

Contact BBC News

Home Sport Worklife Future Music Weather

News Reel Travel Culture TV Sounds

Terms of Use About the BBC Privacy Policy Cookies Accessibility Help Parental Guidance

Contact the BBC Get Personalised Newsletters Why you can trust the BBC Advertise with us

AdChoices / Do Not Sell My Info

© 2021 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external
linking.