As protests continue to escalate in Hong Kong, Chinese K-Pop idols have voiced their support for the ‘One China’ policy via the country’s microblogging website Weibo and other social media.
According to The Korea Herald, f(x)’s Victoria, Seventeen’s The 8 and Jun, WJSN’s Cheng Xiao, Mei Qi and Xuan Yi, as well as former Pristin member Zhou Jieqiong are among the artists who have expressed their allegiance to mainland China.
Jackson Wang, a Hong Kong native and member of boy group GOT7, and Lai Kuan Lin, a Tawainese soloist and former member of now-disbanded act Wanna One, have received flak for supporting China although not being from mainland China.
Having similar views has led Exo’s Chinese member Lay Zhang to end his modelling contract with Samsung Electronics. The China-based entertainment agency representing the singer, songwriter and producer stated that the South Korean tech giant’s global website does not adhere to the policy, which refers to territories of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao as part of China and not separate entities.
Following the contract termination, the singer posted an image with a message “What a shame for Hong Kong” on Instagram.
Zhang, who also models for Calvin Klein, warned the US apparel company to respect the ‘One China’ policy too.
The large-scale antigovernment protests in Hong Kong that have led to instances of police brutality have furthermore caused K-Pop concerts and fan meetings to be put on hold for safety reasons.
Last Tuesday, Konnect Entertainment notified fans that soloist Kang Daniel’s scheduled fan meeting titled ‘Kang Daniel Fan Meeting: Color on Me in Hong Kong’ on August 18 would be postponed due to concerns for the safety of the artist, staff and fans.
Korean label JYP Entertainment announced that the Hong Kong stop of GOT7’s ‘Keep Spinning’ world tour, set for August 31 and September 1, has been postponed. The statement came after fans shared their concerns for the seven members — especially Jackson Wang, who declared himself a guardian of the Chinese flag on Weibo — and asked for the group’s concerts to be cancelled, becoming a worldwide trending topic on Twitter.
Additionally, AB6IX’s worried fans have urged their management to cancel or postpone the rookie group’s upcoming fan meeting, which is booked for August 24, for the safety of the quintet.
The controversial bill that Hong Kong was set to pass, which allowed individuals to be extradited to China, has been suspended but not entirely withdrawn.
