Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung (張學友) has been criticized by the “Little Pink” — a term used to describe young, jingoistic Chinese nationalists on the Web — for saying “Hong Kong jia you [加油, an expression of encouragement].”
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule on Friday, China Central Television made a series of programs in which it interviewed Cheung and other celebrities.
Cheung, speaking in Cantonese, said in the interview that “Hong Kong has been through a lot in the past 25 years, including ups and downs” and ended with the phrase “Hong Kong jia you,” which drew fierce criticism from some Chinese on social media.
Photo courtesy of Universal Music Hong Kong
The phrase was widely used during the territory’s anti-extradition protests in 2019, and was viewed as taboo by Beijing and the Hong Kong government.
Some Chinese criticized Cheung for being “unpatriotic” because his words seemed to side with the protesters and some took issue that he did not mention the word “motherland” in the interview, while others criticized the phrase “ups and downs” as an expression of his discontent with the changes in Hong Kong.
In response, Cheung on Sunday issued a statement saying: “I am a Chinese person who loves his country and Hong Kong. As an entertainer, staying out of politics is my principle. I was born and raised in Hong Kong, and hope to grow old and die there.”
The current situation in the territory is “unsatisfactory” in comparison to its most glorious days, he said, adding that the protests and the COVID-19 pandemic had caused an economic slump and thrown the public into a panic.
As such, Hong Kong needs to be encouraged, he said.
“Hong Kong jia you” has become taboo because it was used by “someone who made a mistake,” which is incomprehensible to him, he added.
“I hope we Chinese people can be reasonable,” Cheung said, adding that he is thankful for the feedback provided by the public.
Cross-Strait Policy Association secretary-general Wang Chih-sheng (王智盛) in Taipei yesterday said that the incident is a display of Hong Kong being bullied by Beijing.
Taipei University of Marine Technology associate professor Wu Chien-chung (吳建忠) said that the “Little Pink” being infuriated with Cheung just because he did not mention the “motherland” indicates that Hong Kongers have been deprived of the freedom to not have an opinion.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to lead a delegation to China next month, saying she hopes to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and bring stability to the Taiwan Strait. “I am grateful and happy to accept this invitation,” Cheng said in a statement from the KMT chairperson’s office. Cheng said she hopes both sides can work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, enhance exchange and cooperation, bring stability to the Taiwan Strait and improve people’s livelihoods. At today's news conference, Cheng said any efforts to
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
RSS