A map circulating among Chinese netizens and celebrities in a show of support for Beijing’s “nine-dash line” territorial claim over the South China Sea has stirred heated debate between netizens on each side of the Taiwan Strait.
In response to the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday that China’s “nine-dash line” territorial claim is unlawful, Chinese netizens and well-known Chinese actors and actresses, including Fan Bingbing (范冰冰) and Huang Shaoming (黃曉明), posted a map of China that includes Taiwan on microblogging sites with the message: “China, cannot be one bit less (中國，一點都不能少).”
The inclusion of Taiwan on the map, which is marked in red as part of China’s territories, enraged Taiwanese netizens, who reacted with statements such as: “Taiwan stopped being a part of China long ago” and “What do you think you’re doing including my home on your country’s map?”
Photo: Screengrab from Vincent Chiao’s Weibo microblog
Chinese netizens said in response: “Taiwanese artists need not come to China to develop their careers,” “Taiwan separatists get lost” and “Is it wrong to be patriotic?”
Taiwanese pop diva Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) was bombarded with criticism from Chinese netizens for not sharing the map on her social media account, while China-based Taiwanese singer Jimmy Lin (林志穎) came under fire when he posted a picture of his eldest son instead of reposting the Chinese map in solidarity with the protesters.
Taiwanese actress Ruby Lin (林心如) and Taiwanese actor Wallace Huo (霍建華), who both have a large fan base in China and are due to get married later this month, posted the map on their microblogs, drawing an angry response from Taiwanese users, while Chinese fans came to their defense, saying: “We are all one family, Taiwan is a province of China.”
While some attempted to downplay the controversy by saying the posts represented only the stance of Lin and Huo’s respective movie studios, Huo posted a message on Thursday saying the repost of the map also represented his stance, prompting an outcry from Taiwanese fans.
Taiwanese netizens said Huo’s political stance “will cause much trouble for his brother,” who is a police officer in Taiwan, while Chinese netizens welcomed Huo’s message.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong actress and member of the pop group Twins Charlene Choi (蔡卓妍), better known as A-sa (阿Sa), responded to criticism that she was unpatriotic for failing to repost the map by saying: “Patriotism isn’t just something spoken.”
“Does being patriotic mean I have to say so every second? I donate money every year to build schools for orphaned children in China. Whenever there is a natural disaster I am there on the ground helping people out. Do I even need to respond to you people?” Choi wrote.
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