Taiwanese fans call out local celebs for their pro-China statements

Recent wave of pronouncements made in the wake of President Lai’s inauguration

- Yip Wai Yee

The Instagram account belonging to Taiwanese rock band Mayday has been flooded with thousands of angry comments many from Taiwanese users claiming to be the group's most loyal fans.

"Thank you for keeping me company for 20 years, but that ends here. I'm too disappointed," read one comment.

Another fan wrote: "I have loved your music for a long time, but I love Taiwan more."

The backlash comes after the band's lead singer, Ashin, appeared to claim a Chinese identity during a concert in Beijing on May 25.

"We Chinese, when we come to Beijing, must eat roast duck," he said onstage to rapturous cheers and applause.

The comment quickly became a trending topic on Chinese microblogging site Weibo, where local fans praised the band for "speaking the truth".

Beijing views Taiwan as its own territory and seeks "peaceful reunification" with the island, though it has never ruled out the use of force, if necessary.

In Taiwan, however, it was a different story.

Ashin was only one of at least 70 Taiwanese celebrities who have made pro-China statements in the past two weeks - a trend which has sparked widespread anger among Taiwanese who have accused them of "selling out" their identity for gains in the lucrative and massive Chinese market.

Dozens of celebrities, for instance, have reshared on their social media accounts a post by Chinese state television channel CCTV on Weibo that described Taiwan independence as a "dead end", and said that reunification with China is "unstoppable".

Taiwanese artistes have reshared the post, including singers Rainie Yang, Angela Chang and Jeff Chang, and television host Patty Hou.