Joey Wong Upsets Taiwanese Netizens After Posting Olympic Medal Count Of China, Taiwan & Hongkong

Showing support for certain athletes at Tokyo 2020 hasn’t exactly been a simple or straightforward matter for some folks.

We mean, just look at what happened to Jolin Tsai and Dee Hsu, who were both accused of being “pro-Taiwanese independence” after they each shared happy posts about Taiwanese Olympians.

Recently, another Taiwanese star found herself in hot water over her Olympics-related update, although this time, it was for the opposite reason.

So how and why on earth did she draw ire from netizens even when she clearly tried to be diplomatic by mentioning all three places at the same time?

You see, Taiwanese netizens were not pleased with the fact that Taiwan was called “Chinese Taipei” in Joey’s image, which, by the way, also describes Hongkong as “Hongkong, China”.

Without going too much into its complicated history with China, Taiwan has been competing in the Olympics as “Chinese Taipei” ever since an agreement not to use its name, flag, or national anthem at the Games was reached in the early ‘80s.

Of course, not everyone has been happy with this compromise, and that’s where the outcry over Joey’s post comes in.

Comments include: “Joey jie jie, Taiwan is not China”, “Goddess, I think you lack wisdom”, “I want to unfollow you”, “Has your IQ been sucked away by Lao Lao (the villain from A Chinese Ghost Story, which catapulted Joey to fame)?”, “Good thing I like Athena Chu instead”, and “If you want to be a bootlicker, do it by yourself, don’t insult Taiwan”.

This isn’t the first time Joey has gotten into trouble for displaying a supposed pro-China stance.

When the Xinjiang cotton controversy was raging earlier this year, Joey shared a picture publicly declaring her support for the fabric, which was being boycotted by several global brands over the alleged use of forced labour in its production.

Her move shocked her fellow Taiwanese, who criticised her for “throwing away [her] integrity for the sake of money” and for being a “hypocrite” since she’s known to be a devout Buddhist.

Chinese netizens, on the other hand, were totally on board with Joey’s act of “patriotism”, and showered her with praises and messages of support.

And then there were those who questioned the authenticity of Joey’s Instagram account, pointing out that she has preferred to keep a low profile after leaving showbiz and would not share something so attention-grabbing on a public platform.

Some fans then revealed that the only social media account that is personally managed by Joey herself is her Baidu Tieba page, leading to suspicions that her Instagram is run by either an imposter, or a close friend or relative of hers.

Photos: Joey Wong/Instagram