TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A social media comment made by Taiwanese singer and TV personality Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) in reference to Taiwan's "national competitors" in the Tokyo Olympics has been met with a backlash in China, with several Chinese companies terminating their partnerships with the celebrity.
On Sunday (Aug. 1), Hsu, who is also known by the nickname "Little S," took to Instagram during the highly anticipated final badminton match between Taiwanese champion Tai Tzu-ying (戴資穎) and her Chinese opponent, Chen Yufei (陳雨菲). Before long, however, a comment in which Hsu expressed a wish to invite Taiwan's "national competitors" to dinner was seen by Chinese netizens, who were upset by the perceived breach of Beijing's "one-China" principle, UDN reported.
Comments left by distressed Chinese citizens accused her of being "two-faced" and told her she should forget about making money in China.
Hsu's comment, which has been deleted, soon went viral on China's twitter-like social media platform Weibo. In a show of patriotic fervor, Chinese firms on Monday (Aug. 2) rushed to announce they were ending their celebrity endorsement agreements with the former "Kangsi Coming" host.
Beverage company Oriental House and Hong Kong-based adult toy brand Osuga both issued statements on Weibo announcing the termination of their relationships with Hsu, with the former saying that "national interests are above anything else, and we resolutely support the one-China principle!"
Meanwhile, shampoo brand Clear, which is owned by British multinational Unilever, announced that its contract with Hsu has ended. Chinese fashion label JORYA stated that its contracts with Hsu, as well as her teenage daughter Ellie, have similarly expired.
Unilever clarified to Taiwan News that Hsu's contract with the company ran its course in March.