TAIPIEI, TAIWAN – Oscar -winning actress Michelle Yeoh sparked an online tumult with a reference in an Instagram publication in the capital of Taiwan self -rolled suggesting that it was part of China.
Taiwan, or the Republic of China, has disagreed with the continent since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and that the nationalist government fled to Taiwan, while the MAO Zedong’s communist forces created the People’s Republic of China.
The island is not diplomatically recognized by most countries, although it is an auto-strict democracy of 23 million people with its own borders, currency and government.
China considers Taiwan to be a province of breakaway which must be brought into the fold, a feeling that the Malaysian actress seemed to approve her comment online.
“Thank you Tiffany for inviting us to Taipei China,” said Yeoh in the Instagram post, referring to the jeweler Tiffany & Co after attending the opening of one of his stores in a Taipei shopping center.
The position was “loved” nearly 33,000 times from Friday morning, but he also obtained nearly 7,000 comments, many of whom were talking about his choice of words.
“Never heard of a city called Taipei in China, only in Taiwan,” said an Instagram user called “Amidsummernightdrean”. “I am surprised Michelle.”
“You can just say” Taipei “, no need to mention China,” said another user, “you have spoiled.”
“If you want to be Chinese, you can do it yourself. Why train others with you? Instagram user “Sychcc” has published to the Chinese ethnic actress. “What is your goal by saying Taipei China?”
“Michelle, don’t do that. Taipei is in Taiwan, not in China, “said Wangtw user.
But all the comments were not negative.
“Applause to you for having been courageous and use the most appropriate way to contact Taipei, part of China,” said user “Lordjingjing”
Even if the island works as a de facto independent country with its own political and economic systems and military, it is excluded from the UN and the main world organizations due to the insistence of China not to be recognized as a country.
Taiwan athletes are generally represented During major sporting events as “Chinese Taipei”.
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Yeoh is not the first celebrity to find yourself in hot water on comments related to China and Taiwan.
Hollywood actor and former WWE star John Cena faced a reaction in 2021 for calling Taiwan a “country” during an interview promoting the ninth episode of the series of films “Fast and Furious”. He apologized in Mandarin to appease the Chinese public.
The former NBA player, Dwight Howard, also sparked controversy in 2023 after qualifying Taiwan as a “country” in a promotional video. He also apologized after criticism from China.
The Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan aroused indignation in Taiwan in 2004 when he called the island’s presidential election “the biggest joke in the world”, leading to demonstrations during a visit to Taipei.
China has composed diplomatic and economic pressures on the island since the administration of former president Tsai Ing-Wen came to power in 2016, because Tsai and his party refused to recognize that Taiwan and the continent belonged to a “China”.
The president of Taiwan, Lai Ching-Te, who came to power after winning a January 2024 election despite a fierce opposition from Beijing to his offer, ran on a platform for the promotion of peace in the Taiwan Strait without compromising the claims of Taiwanese sovereignty.
Published by Tajun Kang and Mike Firn.