How China's nationalistic netizens played into Malaysian rapper Namewee's hands

If a picture paints a thousand words, a removed picture can say even more. Controversial Malaysian rapper Namewee on July 21 took down photos he had earlier posted on Facebook of himself with actor Eric Tsang and singer Kenny Bee. This came after the two veteran Hong Kong celebrities issued formal apologies for their appearance alongside the rapper, for which they caught flak from Chinese netizens.

- Magdalene Fung

HONG KONG — If a picture paints a thousand words, a removed picture can say even more. Controversial Malaysian rapper Namewee on July 21 took down photos he had earlier posted on Facebook of himself with actor Eric Tsang and singer Kenny Bee. This came after the two veteran Hong Kong celebrities issued formal apologies for their appearance alongside the rapper, for which they caught flak from Chinese netizens.

Namewee is boycotted on the mainland for his "anti-China stance", after his songs mocked the country's leader and nationalistic netizens. In a fresh Facebook post on the same day the pictures were taken down, Namewee shared his latest song, Letter of Apology. He cited the lyrics: "I'm now ready to admit my mistakes/ Although it's just a small issue/ I'm willing to bow down and admit that I'm weak/And reflect on all my foolish mistakes."

It was a master stroke. In an instant, he generated free, large-scale publicity for his most recent work, simultaneously putting on display the absurdity of the nationalistic outcry over the photos and the motivation for the artistes' apologies as implied in his new song.

OUTRAGE AND OPPORTUNITY

Namewee's initial post on July 19 had seemed innocuous enough. It was just pictures of the celebrities smiling for the camera, with his message in Chinese stating merely "wishing you a successful performance tonight", ahead of a concert taking place that evening in Genting, Malaysia. It looked and read like an innocent post from any other delighted supporter of Tsang and Bee who had been lucky enough to meet his or her idols in person.