Chinese social media users reportedly chastised Hong Kong actor Bobby Au-Yeung for posting a Christmas-themed video online.
Season’s greetings: The 61-year-old actor uploaded two videos to his Douyin account on Dec. 24 greeting his over 110,000 followers while wearing a Santa Claus hat in front of a Christmas tree, according to AsiaOne.
Subscribe to
NextShark's Newsletter
A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.
Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.
Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive.
- His intention to spread good vibes during the festive season was met with backlash from some of Douyin’s Chinese users who were upset with him for celebrating a “Western” holiday.
- “This celebration is only for foreigners,” one user wrote, while another said, “The Chinese nation has a rich traditional culture, we have to celebrate our own occasions and be practitioners and inheritors of excellent culture,” Today reported.
- Another user also referenced China’s all-time highest-grossing film “Battle at Lake Changjin,” co-directed by Dante Lam, Chen Kaige and Tsui Hark. The movie, which has grossed over 5.77 billion yuan (approximately $906 million) and won the best film award at the Changchun Film Festival on Saturday, is a fictionalized retelling of how Chinese soldiers defeated American soldiers during the Korean War’s Battle of the Chosin Reservoir.
- “Did you not watch The Battle at Lake Changjin?” the user asked. “There is no more Christmas, today is just December 25.”
Support and understanding: Some of Au-Yeung’s fans, however, supported the actor on his decision to celebrate Christmas.
- “There’s nothing wrong with sharing your happiness, forcing patriotism and making a big issue out of everything are the real problems,” one user wrote.
- Another one said, “You did nothing wrong! You were only sharing!”
- Although Au-Yeung reportedly seemed apologetic in some of his responses to his critics, the actor’s recent Weibo posts insinuate the opposite.
- “Thank you to all the fans for your support and understanding,” the actor wrote. “I just have one more thing to say: I have a clear conscience.”
Featured Image via @欧阳震华 Bobby
