bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

One of mainland China’s favourite foreign music stars, Kenny G, caused a mild splash on social media after he dropped in at a pro-democracy protest camp in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Smooth jazz saxophonist Kenny G – real name Kenneth Bruce Gorelick – visited the main protest site in Admiralty, where he posed for photos with a number of star-struck demonstrators.
He later posted on Twitter that he wished “everyone a peaceful and positive conclusion to this situation”.
Some joked that his presence was a harbinger of the rally’s end, as one of his hits, Going Home, is widely used in mainland China as an effective method for shooing away crowds at closing time.
The song is played in shopping malls, train stations and fitness centres across the country as a signal to the public that it’s time to leave.
This sparked numerous jokes on social media on Wednesday that the musician had been sent by Beijing to finally get the protesters to leave the streets.
in Hong Kong at the sight of the demonstration. I wish everyone a peaceful and positive conclusion to this situation pic.twitter.com/mEp5jIXLjj
	— Kenny G (@officialkennyg) October 22, 2014
Kenny G’s music is hugely popular in China: on the video-sharing site Youku, four of the top 10 most-viewed saxophone videos are of his hit Going Home, with hundreds of thousands of views.
Gorelick’s visit came just as the Chinese Communist Party’s youth league ran an online poll on how to “punish” celebrities who supported the Hong Kong protests.
It remains to be seen how the Chinese public will react to Gorelick’s apparent support for Hong Kong democracy. Hong Kong and Taiwanese musicians and actors who have voiced approval for the protests have been widely criticised on Chinese social media, and some have called for them to be blacklisted from ever working on the mainland again. 
The mainland government wasn't impressed. At a regular press conference foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters: "Kenny G's musical works are widely popular in China, but China's position on the illegal Occupy Central activities in Hong Kong is very clear."
"We hope that foreign governments and individuals speak and act cautiously and not support the Occupy Central and other illegal activities in any form," she added.
In the past, Gorelick has seemed as surprised as anyone about as to his popularity in China, telling The New York Times earlier this year: “I don’t ask questions because I like to leave some of the mystery.”



Former jailed ringleader of Hong Kong’s Occupy movement Shiu Ka-chun reveals cancer battle

Nothing brings Hongkongers and mainland Chinese closer together than sports

Former Hong Kong politician ‘major backer’ of firearms purchase from US in ‘Dragon Slaying Brigade’ plot, court hears

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}New | Smooth jazz superstar Kenny G visits Hong Kong protest site

New | Smooth jazz superstar Kenny G visits Hong Kong protest site