TWICE's Tzuyu has been facing controversy in China with her stating Taiwanese as her nationality, instead of Chinese. Since then, JYP Entertainment made a slight change to TWICE members' profiles, by switching the word 'nationality' into 'place of birth'.
But it appears that wasn't the origin of the controversy. Last November, on the recording of MBC's 'My Little Television', Tzuyu held up both the Korean and Taiwanese flag. Although that segment did not appear on broadcast, Chinese netizens still found out and many were not pleased.
This is because some Chinese netizens have been thinking that Tzuyu is wishing for Taiwanese independence from China.
It's a debated topic whether Taiwan is a separate country from China or not. Taiwan has its own self-sustaining government, but whether Taiwan is an independent country from China is still up for debate.
This has become a growing issue, affecting TWICE's promotions in China. According to reports by StarNews, TWICE has been removed from Beijing TBV's 'Choon Wan' poster, making people wonder if they will not be on the show anymore. The producers responded by saying that TWICE was never invited to be on the show.
Tzuyu's endorsement with China's Huawei has also been reported to be canceled and her CFs have been suspended.
In response, JYP Entertainment uploaded an official report on their Weibo on January 13.
The agency said, "The online rumors are not true, and as a cultural business, JYP Entertainment has always made effort to have an amiable interaction between Korea and China. Including Tzuyu, JYP Entertainment has not made any remark or action related to Chinese politics.
The person concerned (Tzuyu) is a 16 year old minor. With her age and work experience, her political point of view has not fully formed yet.
However, because of a mentioned rumor from above, JYPE's daily work in China has been affected, which have made our sub-contractors, who protected and cooperated with us, uncomfortable.
Considering the situation, until the controversy subsides, JYP Entertainment has made the decision to completely suspend all of this celebrity (Tzuyu's) activities in China.
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We hope this dies down soon so that TWICE, and especially Tzuyu, will not have any more problems promoting in China.
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