Vivian Sung caught in the middle of Taiwan-China conflict
10 Aug – Taiwanese actress Vivian Sung is the latest celebrity to be caught in the middle of the China-Taiwan political conundrum following a response she gave in an interview back in 2015.
As reported on Epoch Times, the actress, who has been enjoying a great success in her career in mainland China since the release of her movie, "Our Times", and the subsequent popularity of her new Chinese movie, "Hello Mr. Billionaire" found herself in a lose-lose situation when netizens suddenly shared an old interview online - in which Vivian stated Taiwan as her favourite country in a rapid fire round of questions.
Soon, nationalistic mainland netizens began to call for a boycott, accusing her of supporting the Taiwan Independence movement, flooding her Weibo account with offensive words and reported her to the State Administration of Radio and Television (SARFT).
As a response to the backlash, Vivian recently took to Weibo to address the issue, saying that she was deeply sorry for her past interview, and that she is still in the process of learning.
"Taiwan is where I was born. The mainland is the motherland where my dreams come true. [...] I am proud to be Chinese. I love my hometown, I love my country. The two sides of the straits will always be a family," she said.
However, her response has now angered her fellow Taiwanese, with many Taiwanese netizens criticising her for sacrificing her sense of identity for the sake of money. On the other hand, her Chinese critics are not thoroughly convinced with her apology.
The number of fans in her Facebook page had since decreased following the controversy, with many speculating that Vivian will continue to lose more followers in the near future.
(Photo Source: China Times)
