KUALA LUMPUR: In Hong Kong last Sunday, close to a million people took to the streets to protest against a proposed extradition bill that would allow the transfer of people accused of crimes to Mainland China.
Actress Charmaine Sheh was, perhaps, the only celebrity who showed support for the protestors, but she quickly retracted her social media comment after a strong backlash from Mainland Netizens.
Hong Kong entertainment portal JayneStars.com reported yesterday that Sheh “liked” an Instagram post of the political protest which was circulated on the Internet.
Even though Instagram is banned in the Mainland, Mainlanders were able to view a screenshot of Sheh’s “like”.
This made Mainlanders see red and slam her for being “anti-national”. Some of them demanded that Sheh be banned from appearing in Mainland television programmes.
The fearsome backlash the 44-year-old artiste received prompted her to make a public apology.
She posted on Instagram: “After work, I have a habit of browsing my friends’ Instagram accounts. I browsed through a known photographer’s work and gave him a compliment.
“I was extremely shocked when I realised the content of the picture, and retracted my compliment.
“I love my country and love Hong Kong. I don’t want others to over-interpret this matter. Thank you everyone.”
Hong Kong Netizens, however, were disappointed by Sheh’s apology.
Some of them expressed disappointment and questioned her “loyalty and conscience”. They even posted her quote from her 2011 television drama When Heaven Burns — “this city is dying”.
The popular drama saw Sheh play a young woman, Yan, who is traumatised by the horrifying death of her boyfriend.
When Heaven Burns became the first Hong Kong drama to be censored by the Chinese government in the last two decades, because of its allusions to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 in Beijing.
It however won the TVB Anniversary Award for best drama in 2012, and Sheh was nominated for Best Actress.