China damages its brand when it co-opts celebrities into its One-China, pro-police propaganda drive

Entertainers such as Liu Yifei and Jackie Chan have sparked backlashes outside China after taking positions on the Hong Kong protests. While such displays play well to Chinese nationalists, they might actually hurt China’s image overseas

Chiu-Ti Jansen

Published: 3:00am, 22 Aug 2019

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In the midst of heightened tension over the unrest in Hong Kong, many of the top 50 topics trending on China’s Weibo platform last week pertained to international brands from Versace and Givenchy to Coach and Swarovski apologising for daring to mislabel Hong Kong or Taiwan as countries on their products or websites.

Supermodel Liu Wen, actress Yang Mi and pop idol Jackson Yee were among the celebrities who publicly severed their endorsement contracts with the brands and declared their allegiance to the one-China policy.

Yet, there seemed to be double standards when it came to Huawei, the technology giant that has become a nationalist symbol in the trade war with the United States. The company emerged unscathed even though it was found to have labelled Taipei as part of Taiwan, not China, on its phones for the Taiwan market. Some Weibo users also complained that their posts regarding this revelation were deleted by the site’s administrator.

The timing of all these revelations was intriguing. Regardless of whether the nationalist fever was fanned to reshape the narrative around Hong Kong as a secessionist conspiracy and therefore prepare the domestic audience for a possible military crackdown, the political message was unmistakable: there is zero tolerance for political incorrectness.

Any person of influence who publicly takes a position on China’s territorial integrity and sovereignty should be respected, if their views are based on real political conviction. But some may question the wisdom of abruptly terminating contracts in the grip of nationalism.

After all, most web designers for brands are unlikely to have deliberately courted controversy by placing a territory in the wrong category. Also, it might not help that the International Organisation for Standardisation includes different two-letter Web domain names for different subdivisions of countries, for example.

Yet, when such apparently unintended mistakes were blown up into political incidents and characterised as affronts to China’s dignity, brand ambassadors couldn’t cut ties with the companies fast enough. Of course, for entertainers whose primary market is China, the choice seems simple: it is necessary to curry favour with the regime to safeguard their commercial success.

Whatever he says, Trump doesn’t care about Hong Kong either way

But for performers who aspire to international fame, there could be a huge price to pay for indiscriminate patriotism.

Last week, supporters of the Hong Kong protests called for a boycott of Disney’s Mulan remake after actress Liu Yifei, who plays the title role, said on Weibo she supported the city’s police. Hong Kong police are celebrated as heroes in China, but have been criticised in Hong Kong for their use of excessive force against demonstrators and for their inaction during a violent mob attack on protesters and bystanders in Yuen Long.

Jackie Chan has also sparked a backlash. Earlier this month, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV launched a social media campaign called “The Five-Starred Red Flag Has 1.4 Billion Flag Guards”, after protesters threw a Chinese flag into Victoria Harbour. In an emotional interview with CCTV, Chan declared that he, too, was a “national flag guard”.

Many in Hong Kong responded in anger, and one retweeted the video of the offending interview with the message: “For those who still don’t understand why #Hong Kong people hate Jackie Chan.”

Liu and Chan are not the only stars to have expressed their opinions and stirred up a hornet’s nest. On June 30, Canto-pop singers Alan Tam Wing-lun and Kenny Bee – both members of the 1970s band the Wynners – went on stage at a pro-police rally and called protesters “ridiculous”. In response, long-time fans trashed their old records.

Protesters in need of carrots after sticks

Even actor Tony Leung Ka-fai, who attended the rally but did not speak, was not spared. Netizens cast doubt on the motivation for his appearance at the pro-police gathering. Some observed that Midnight Diner, Leung’s directorial debut, finally got a release date in China after he attended the rally.

Still, although #BoycottMulan has generated tens of thousands of likes and retweets, its impact remains uncertain as the world premiere is still many months away. Besides, Twitter is blocked in China. A boycott of the movie in Hong Kong and some Western countries could also rally nationalist support for Liu in China.

Ironically, Liu’s comment on the Hong Kong protests has also been picked apart in China. The actress, reportedly a naturalised American citizen, was criticised on Weibo for interfering in China’s internal affairs. Liu was also accused of purposely leaving an emoji of the Chinese flag out of her post, unlike other stars. It all smacks of a return to the days of the “literary inquisition”.

Meanwhile, China has also forced everyone in the world of Chinese-language cinema to pick sides by boycotting Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards, which will be held on the same day as its Golden Rooster Awards.

Chinese director Zhang Yimou holding his Golden Horse Award for Best Director in Taipei last year. China is boycotting the Golden Horse Awards this year. Photo: AP

As the US-China trade war and the Hong Kong situation rage on, it seems certain that there will be more pressure on entertainers to declare their positions and also more policing of their public statements. Stars with international reach must be thoughtful, if not strategic, before endorsing any side. It is also conceivable that film studios will contractually require cast members to refrain from making controversial political statements that might hurt the marketability of specific projects.

To meet its goals, China will have to become more likeable

While Chinese patriotism is useful for rallying citizens and legitimising any tough action with regard to the Hong Kong situation, it risks further polarising public discourse and undermining China’s narrative of its peaceful rise. Overplaying this hand could leave Chinese leaders less wiggle room should they later need to retreat under international pressure.

Just as protesters should face legal consequences for using violence, Hong Kong police should be held accountable for using unwarranted force. If an independent investigation reveals that Hong Kong police had, as widely reportedly outside China, used excessive force against demonstrators, those celebrities’ political calculations could go down the drain.

By the same token, given China’s desire to project its soft power internationally, it is not enough to broadcast its side of the story to its domestic audience – and, by doing so, incite bigotry and hatred. Entertainers could be powerful brand ambassadors for China itself. They shouldn’t be involved in spreading divisive propaganda.

Chiu-Ti Jansen, with advanced degrees from Yale and Columbia, is the founder of multimedia platform China Happenings and a former corporate partner of international law firm Sidley Austin

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