Netizens petition for HK actor’s award to be revoked

With the controversial extradition bill splitting the city of Hong Kong into two sides, many have been speculating on the stance of certain celebrities. On June 30, pro-establishment supporters gathered at a rally supporting the city’s police officers – who have been criticized for using excessive force on protesters – at Tamar Park in Admiralty, the battleground for the protests. Alan Tam, a revered actor-singer since the 1980s, showed up at the event, angering some fans.

As a result, a petition to have Tam’s 18th Golden Horse Best Actor Award revoked was issued on Change.org by some angry netizens. According to HK01.com, 500 people signed the petition within three hours.

Apart from the petition, some protesters on July 1 destroyed their Alan Tam vinyl collections at a demonstration. Memorabilia of other artists showing support for the police were also destroyed at the venue.

The creator of the petition stated that Tam had won the award for his performance in If I Were for Real, a movie with an anti-communist plot. He had also shown support for the students’ movement in China in 1989 – right before the June 4 incident – publicly. The petition creator said Tam had since become a stooge for the Communist regime on the mainland and no longer deserved his accolades, as that would be a mockery of the highest honor in Chinese movie industry.

In another case, Hong Kong artist Pakho Chau was removed from the performers’ list at the upcoming OPPO Reno Music Festival in Chongqing, China, after he created a post on his Instagram account urging his followers in Hong Kong to perform their civic duty by registering as voters. Netizens in mainland China labeled him a “separatist” and told him to “not come up here for the renminbi any more.”

Chau’s public relations team has since removed any posts regarding voter registration from his social-media handles.