Wong Hei is latest subject of social media checkup on HK, Taiwan stars
A Hong Kong actor on Monday apologized for reportedly posting "inappropriate" content on Hong Kong-mainland ties on social media, after his face was blurred out in the latest episode of a reality TV show broadcast by State-run China Central Television (CCTV).
In CCTV's broadcast of the controversial episode of Liaobuqi de tiaozhan on Sunday, almost all the scenes featuring Wong Hei - former star of several series produced by Hong Kong's TVB - were cut out. Throughout the nearly one and a half hour program, Wong's face was also completely pixilated out in the few remaining scenes that featured him.
Wong's contentious Facebook posts and shares were first disclosed on December 31 by Taiwan singer Huang An on his Weibo account.
The singer, a self-avowed opponent of "Taiwan independence," accused Wong of making insulting comments about the mainland on social media outside China while making money on the mainland. Other screenshots of Wong's Facebook page showed reposts of sarcastic comments critical of the Chinese mainland.
Wong later apologized on his Weibo for the "unnecessary trouble" he brought to CCTV and the show's producer. He also stressed that he is not a supporter of "Hong Kong independence."
Chen Di, chief director of the show - the Chinese version of Korean TV show Infinite Challenge - responded on Weibo on December 31, clarifying that the production team would not have invited Wong to participate in the show had they known about the actor's inappropriate behavior on social media. Chen also promised that Wong would not appear on screen when the next episode of the show was aired.
The show's production team had done some preliminary investigative work on Wong's social media behavior before inviting him to the show and had not found much improper content, Chen told the Global Times on Monday.
"His sharing of some alleged inappropriate content happened after the invitation to the show," Chen added.
When asked about the reason for cutting Wong's scenes and blurring out his face, the director replied, "We did not want to play a part in the hype of his unwarranted behavior."
Chen said that Wong's part in the show would probably have been cut even without Huang's report, as the production team's regular social media checkup would have discovered the inappropriate content before the airing of the show.
The show's team did not face pressure from the relevant authorities, said the director.
This is not the first time that performances by artists from Taiwan or Hong Kong have been affected by their "inappropriate" words or deeds online. Taiwan singer Crowd Lu was supposedly scratched from the schedule of the Strawberry Music Festival in Guangdong Province last November for his alleged support for "Taiwan independence," news site reported.
