China’s authoritarian leaders regard autonomous and democratic Taiwan as part of China’s territory and have vowed to seize the island by force if necessary.
Beijing is angry at any international recognition of Taiwan, which competes under the compromising expression of “Chinese Taipei” and cannot use its flag and national anthem when its athletes are on the podium.
It’s not just Li and Wang who are at the crosshairs-anyone seen as supporting them has been treated similarly.
Taiwanese artist Xu Xu is a former variety show host and has a large number of fans in China. In recent days, she has lost several endorsement agreements with Chinese brands after calling Taiwan players “national athletes” on Instagram.
Shanghai ginger tea brand Shouquanzhai stated on its Weibo that it will “immediately stop all cooperation with Dee Hsu.”
“National interests are paramount, (we) firmly uphold the one-China principle,” the brand wrote, referring to Beijing’s policy that Taiwan is still part of China.
