TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese celebrities Angela Chang (張韶涵) and Rainie Yang (楊丞琳) on Thursday (May 23) were among a second wave of Taiwanese entertainers to repost Chinese propaganda that Taiwan would “return” to China.
During President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) inauguration speech on Monday (May 20), he called on all political parties to “oppose annexation and protect sovereignty.” On Wednesday (May 22), China's state-run CCTV responded by uploading a post to Weibo denying Taiwan's existence as a country, labeling independence a “dead end,” and declaring that Taiwan's “reunification” with China is “unstoppable.”
Along with 30 Chinese entertainers, several Taiwanese celebrities also reposted the statement on Tuesday, including singer and actress Nana Ouyang (歐陽娜娜), journalist Patty Hou (佩侯岑), actor and model Darren Chen (官鴻), and actor and singer Riley Wang (王以綸). Chang and Yang waited until Thursday to follow suit, reported Liberty Times.
Chinese netizens on Weibo created a spreadsheet of Taiwanese celebrities, documenting whether they have shared that particular post. They noticed that Chang was “a day late” in reposting, and she wrote in simplified Chinese: "China will eventually achieve complete reunification, and Taiwan will inevitably return to the embrace of the motherland."
In addition, netizens observed other Taiwanese artists including actress and singer Rainie Yang, singer and composer Ken Chu (朱孝天), actor and singer Ming Dao (明道), singer Huang Pin-Yuan (黃品源), and actress and singer Michelle Chen (陳妍希) had “finally” chosen to follow up and repost Thursday, drawing praise from Chinese nationalists.
However, Taiwanese were angered when Hou became the first famous Taiwanese figure to share the post. Many left critical comments, such as, "She might as well move to China.
In total, 22 Taiwanese artists have shared the post, while 63 have not, based on the Weibo spreadsheet. Notable Taiwanese entertainers who have not reposted the statement include actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), TV host and actress Dee Hsu (徐熙娣), the band Mayday, singer and songwriter Jolin Tsai 蔡依林, singer and actress Cyndi Wang (王心凌).
