Chinese K-Popstars voice out their opposition to HK protests + fans urge to cancel GOT7's HK concert

[juhli.livejournal.com]

Quick summary on the Hong Kong situation: A couple of months ago, an extradition bill (ELAB) was proposed by Carrie Lam, the HK chief executive. It would allow criminals to undergo extradition between Taiwan, HK and Mainland China. This caused worry by HK citizens that China would use this bill to take basically anyone they don't like or who criticizes the party/government back to China on trial.
Since then, there have been massive protests in HK against the bill. The bill has been put on 'indefinite hold', but has not been withdrawn and the government is ignoring the protesters requests. The protests have turned violent and people are saying that the police are using inappropriate amounts of violence on the protesters. China is condemning the protests and there are videos/pictures of Chinese Armed Police masses and tanks queueing up in Shenzen, which is just across the border with HK. (If you want to read a bit more about it, here's the full twitter thread I used as a source. Also a video of recent protests at the airport.)

Since then, Chinese K-Pop idols (along with most Chinese celebrities) have been voicing their opposition to the Hong Kong Protests on weibo by joining 'The Five-starred Red Flag has 1.4 billion guardians'-hashtag campaign. (If this sounds familiar, last year there was a similar campaign -> Omona post.)
Guanlin, Cheng Xiao, Lay, Victoria, Kyulkyung, Jackson, Jun, The8, Lucas, Yanan and Yuqi all retweeted the campaign on weibo as support for 'One China'. (Lay also posted it on IG and Twitter).

There is also another post (that not all of the idols above retweeted) with "What a shame for Hong Kong" that says “I support the HK police. You can beat me up right now.” (This was said by a China mainland tourist/journalist at the airport, who got beaten up by the crowd after he said that). The hashtag says 'I too support Hong Kong police'.

Edit: Clarification from /u/Sweet-Lullaby @ r/kpop:
There are two posts that Chinese celebrities posted. The first one was about being protectors of the Chinese flag but I can’t find the translation. Every Chinese celebrity working on the mainland has posted that post including rookie idols like G-IDLE’s Yuqi and NCT’s Lucas, Pentagon’s Yanan and as well Jackson.

The new issue is the second post that Chinese celebrities are now posting which specifically states they support the Hong Kong police.

The Chinese Kpop idols who posted the Hong Kong police support post so far:

*Lay ( he went and posted on twitter and IG and not just Weibo)
*Cheng Xiao ( WJSN)
*Jiaqiong ( Kyulkyung)
*The8 and Jun ( Seventeen)
*Lai Guanlin ( ex-W1)
*Victoria: f(x).

Some Chinese celebrities have managed to remain silent and not post either post on social media and so far managed to fly under the radar.

Tension has been understandably high and Lay has already cancelled his HK concert, while fans are urging JYPE to cancel GOT7's HK concert in around 2 weeks too, since everyone's safety might be jeopardised.

[trending] #ZhangYixing’s studio announces that the Hong Kong stop of his concert on Aug 17 is cancelled due to safety issues,in light of current situation. They’ve tried increasing security & other measures but are unable to ensure safety of concert goers, hence the cancellation pic.twitter.com/Ds3mlJ4L0w

— c-drama tweets (@dramapotatoe) August 12, 2019

[trending] #ZhangYixing’s studio announces that the Hong Kong stop of his concert on Aug 17 is cancelled due to safety issues,in light of current situation. They’ve tried increasing security & other measures but are unable to ensure safety of concert goers, hence the cancellation

This is so unsafe please spread the news and help our boys

#JYPE_CancelGOT7HKConcerts pic.twitter.com/OBnA7kJo5y

— BlinkArmy (@blinksarmysvips) August 14, 2019

Use the #jype_cancelGOT7hkconcerts and tag the GOT7 and jypnation account to cancel the concert or postpone it, for the security of GOT7 and drown.
In weibo they have revealed the arrival time of got7, and they have threatened to burn the flag of China in front of Jackson or give him a flag with blood, also the concert is near the airport where at this time the protesters have 6 days that have it taken


source: @danveralkyrie, naver, netizenbuzz, dramapotatoe, blinksarmysvips, hk01, Sweet-Lullaby@r/kpop

Edited in a clarification about how there were two separate posts that got retweeted and what they mean.

Comments

[suggestivepeach.livejournal.com]

Disappointed but not surprised from the mainlander celebs. I can’t even really be mad at them since they were probably indoctrinated from birth into thinking that way. Guanlin and Jackson disappointed me the most though. Expected more from them since they should know how poorly mainland has treated HK and Taiwan.

My dad has been keeping up with every bit of news coming out of HK and I can’t imagine how he feels watching his home country being in such a state.

[nudrive.livejournal.com]

Yeah it's such BS bc I feel like the vast majority don't have a choice if they don't want to jeopardise their jobs/ families etc. in China

[http://users.livejournal.com/psychedelico_/]

i stand with the people of hongkong.

i've been through this during the 9-dash line debacle so i expected to see these chinese celebrities comply to their government's wishes. i've come to accept that some of them might be protecting their families who would also be harrassed by the government if they don't follow orders. the fact that some of them are so comfortable endorsing oppression that they post their propaganda on twitter and instagram still makes me mad though.

also, zhang yixing, member of the communist youth league of china, can choke.

[in-noctem.livejournal.com]

i just came back from hk last week and jackson’s face was unavoidable. he was in so many ads everywhere on the mtr. and there were non stop video ads of got7’s concert too. i just don’t understand why he’s supporting the country his people are bravely fighting against.

[accioanime.livejournal.com]

it's all self-serving because he wants a solo career in China where he has less competition for his shitty rap than in SK. I don't think he actually believes on what either side is standing for.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

Jackson probably feels like he has no other option.

[timetobegin.livejournal.com]

Mostly, I am worried about the people of Hong Kong and I can only hope their democratic independence can be maintained and restored asap.

[juhli.livejournal.com]

I can see all of them being influenced/pressured to post this, but I can also see those from mainland China sincerely being for what they are posting...

Also, JYPE should postpone/cancel the GOT7 concert asap

[the3rdjester.livejournal.com]

The power the Chinese government has is so scary, so tbh we can't tell for sure who from these celebs actually posted those things on their own (and believe them) or out of necessity/fear of being labeled as traitors and getting exalted (or worse). We've all seen how Fan Bingbing, one of the biggest stars of China and well-known worldwide, completely disappeared for months because of her tax evasion scandal.

And yes, absolutely, JYP should cancel/postpone the concert. There are bigger issues here than not getting some money.

[22-taken.livejournal.com]

The hashtag asking JYP to cancel/postpone the concert was trending worldwide for like 3 hours but JYP hasn't responded so far.

[revertigo.livejournal.com]

Spineless petit bourgeois celebrities aside, the western leftists with platforms who are pro-CCP are fucking terrible and toxic. Police, surveillance states and exploitation of the global south are alright if you call yourself communist and decorate the capital with the hammer and sickle banners, now.

The irony is they think theyre more intelligent than everyone else because they ~know~ hong kong protestors are CIA/BI plants because a few were waving US and British flags. To me, they were CCP plants because most protestors cant even carry out civil disobedience without getting their skulls bashed, but a few idiots singing the star bangled banner have the police guarding them and getting their pics taken?

[oh-folk.livejournal.com]

Police, surveillance states and exploitation of the global south are alright if you call yourself communist and decorate the capital with the hammer and sickle banners, now.

Can we scream this from the rooftops? Someone I know from college (she's white, we live the the Bay Area) is full on supporting the CCP and it drives me crazy. She's also one of those people who defends Stalin... like, I hate capitalism too but damn.

[camouflagecat.livejournal.com]

My tl has been flooded by worried and scared ahgases that are demanding JYPE to cancel the concert for more than a day now. I wonder how long JYPE thinks they can wait until they (have to!) address this. Esp the plans of attacks specifically towards Jackson sound very henious, so hopefully we won't have to see it.

I said this in the previous post already but, Jackson seems like a guy that doesn't wanna mix politics and business, and he's been walking a fine line of trying to please each side without having to take a direct political stance (other ppl explained it much better), so seeing him post the message seemed out of character for him. I'd like to think he saw no other choice but to do it. Who knows what goes on behind the scenes...

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

I don't think they have much of a choice

But I do also know some of them probably agree with this: either because they've been indoctrinated since a young age or becaus ethey truly believe this

[thebloomroom.livejournal.com]

Isnt jackson from HK? And Guanlin from Taiwan? Not surprised by any mainland Chinese celeb siding w them but those two surprised me, esp Jackson. $$$$$ talks i guess

[kastih.livejournal.com]

just like last time when qian posted in favor of mainland china, i wonder how amber feels about it.just like i wonder how mark feels about jackson's support. like...i'm happy that for now anyway tzuyu and elkie aren't forced to take a stance..especially after the ridiculous mess from a few years ago.
while i DO believe that there might be a few who only post these things for the safety of both themselves and their family(and their wallets)......a majority strike me as people who've been taught to believe this nonsense from birth.
i'm still kind of disappointed that guan lin and jackson (and, i heard but i'm not sure, lucas) have come out and posted in favor of this too. especially since just last mama jackson rapped in cantonese talking about hk and stuff.....anyway bts' got to be much bigger (for celebrities) than we see because even on knowing brothers yuqi felt the need to say china's beijing when asked if she was from beijing...

[717cm.livejournal.com]

aside from ten, all of wayv reposted the one china policy post on weibo, not just lucas. with half of the group not being mainlanders, they've already been criticized by cnetz in the past, esp since hendery's sisters have been vocally anti-china.

"I support the HK police. You can beat me up right now." no words

[lizanka23.livejournal.com]

i wonder if SM forced them to take a position since they're promoting in the Mainland Chinese market or they could've stayed quiet like tzuyu or elkie...

[evilcoc0nut.livejournal.com]

It's interesting that EXO was just there without any problems. But then again, they're performing without a Chinese member at this point lol. :x

[camouflagecat.livejournal.com]

I read on twitter that their fans got stuck on the airport tho for a significant amount of time (I mean I'm assuming they've got out by now :s)

[pwrpuffgrl.livejournal.com]

The Five-starred Red Flag has 1.4 billion guardians

This rubs me off the worst way possible :/

[cuizy.livejournal.com]

why? Isn't this a response to the HK protesters burning the flag or something?

[topazera.livejournal.com]

“I support the HK police. You can beat me up right now“
This feels so much worse than the general nationalist sentiment they've parroted with the One China thing, it's sickening to read that when the reason the protests turned violent is police brutality being used on the protestors. That's hard to excuse, it's not a blanket post all working idols in China posted.

[cuizy.livejournal.com]

Well what I saw on Chinese internet is they're blaming the protest being violent on the protesters not listening to when the police were telling them nicely. I don't understand the "you can beat me up" part but I also the western media portrayal of the situation is definitely biased too

[daynr.livejournal.com]

I am deeply unimpressed, particularly for those idols who were not born and raised on mainland, especially for anyone endorsing violence. People who endorse state violence are, imo, those who have not yet seen the consequences (and there are a few museums on mainland that actually show it! It's not hard to extrapolate from one oppressor to another!)

I hope Jackson can avoid being forced into a corner to actually make strong statement in any direction (assuming that he does not wish to make that statement.)

With travel and increased violence, it seems pretty straightforward to delay the concert. Both Jackson and Mark are in tricky situations. Mark is sidestepping for now, but he's being trying to work in Mainland before and the Taiwan & American things are not exactly easy issues.

(To be fair, I think Mark is really unpolitical, but it's the not the same as being confronted and ask to blatantly endorse something you probably don't believe, e.g. forced reunification or HK protestors all being U.S. shills. And being in HK right now might lead to confrontation for him too.)

[evilcoc0nut.livejournal.com]

Anyone follow ex-EXO on Weibo? That is, Tao and Yifan. Lu Han hasn't posted anything about this anywhere that I've seen and the other two haven't posted on Insta. I'm curious if they will bc obviously all three are making big bucks in the Mainland.

[juhli.livejournal.com]

I just did a quick search, seems like Luhan also posted it: https://twitter.com/SecretOfGod100/status/1161502895545753602?s=19

Although it seems like only Lay posted it on twitter and IG

[annayism.livejournal.com]

really hoping gualin and jackson are just doing this to save their image? which by itself is also ridiculous

[idlewilds3.livejournal.com]

I would have severely scorn all these ppl before (and it especially suck cause this list include the ones in my fav group) but after what happened with Fan Bing Bing, I don’t want to drag them as much cause the Chinese govt is scary as fuck. I meant I know they were the devil but I thought with the information technology we have now, they would be more circumspect on carrying out their atrocities at least on ppl with international visibility.

The Hong Kong protestors are so brave and amazing and it depresses me that even with all this historical knowledge and spread of information, somehow ppl are still willing defenders of Communist regimes. Like what in the actual fuck?!

[evilcoc0nut.livejournal.com]

somehow ppl are still willing defenders of Communist regimes.

This, tbh. Learning history is free.

But I'm also amazed that people have dragged these Chinese celebs in the past for supporting their govt. There was no one bigger than FBB in China and look what happened to her. Does that look like anyone has a choice here? I wasn't even shocked. Concerned, but not shocked. No one is safe there.

[lizanka23.livejournal.com]

who are the celebrities that stayed silent besides tzuyu or elkie? shuhua?

[kyulkyung.livejournal.com]

do these two even have their own weibo accounts? i thought tzuyu didn't have one.

[sciencebottle.livejournal.com]

Echoing other comments here... I stand with the people of HK. I have such a soft spot for the country and have been there countless times and the turmoil makes me so sad.

This whole thing though makes it even more apparent that celebrities are pawns. And regardless of how indoctrinated they are, I don't think they have any choice. I'm angry and disgusted, but I feel like leveraging my anger towards public figures like idols is just....playing into what the CCP wants. I'm not saying that any of these idols who have posted this stuff don't actually believe this stuff, but we have no way to know. Said this in the other post, but the Fan Bing Bing ordeal was scary as fuck. She was China's highest earning actress, the girl next door, she was one of the most powerful female celebrities in China and now look at her.

[evilcoc0nut.livejournal.com]

She was China's highest earning celeb period. If they can take her down, they can take anyone down. They don't care. That's why I don't get anyone being angry towards them. Like you said, we have no real way of knowing who believes what they're saying and who's covering their ass. But the reality is that they don't have a choice as long as they're working and living in China.

[rainstormraider.livejournal.com]

Do we have proof that the lives of these celebrities were actually threatened? Do we have proof that Fan BingBing was sent to a concentration camp?
Until we do, these celebrities are nothing more than money hungry attention whores.

If you're still buying anything these people are putting out do the same for HK/Taiwan/Macau/Tibet.

The only thing that was clearly threatened was their livelihoods and if that's so important to them why are Chow Yun Fat and others willing to take a stand?

We need to stop idolizing people who take the easy way out when it matters most.

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

On one hand, we all know that they were probably forced to post these things or else they could kiss goodbye to their careers. On the other hand, it's sad that they choose money and fame over morals.

Lay being the poster boy of the CCP is a special case, he can go fuck himself. I'm so glad I dropped him months ago and sold his album. Same goes for his fans that excuse his actions and still support him.

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

Also, JYPE and Tzuyu really lucked out by a) not having personal social media and b) getting into a scandal early in her career. They may not be getting the sweet yuan but at least she doesn't have to address this issue.

[ah0000.livejournal.com]

I'm really sad about everything that's happening and so mad about all of these idols taking a stand for the wrong thing. Yes, it's possible they could be trying to save/protect their careers and even being silent can be seen as opposition...but still it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. They are basically also then brainwashing impressionable fans who then now do not understand what's right and what's wrong. How disappointing.

I have actually been trying to move to Hong Kong and find a job there for the last 4 months. I guess maybe I should lay off for a bit but I really want to live there and I feel like if I don't do it now I will miss my timing. But I don't think my parents will allow me to with everything that's going on right now. It's good that I was able to visit the country earlier this year.

Also,

In weibo they have revealed the arrival time of got7, and they have threatened to burn the flag of China in front of Jackson or give him a flag with blood

What the fuck this is also not an appropriate response either.