Trying to be a Taiwan star but also work in Mainland China has been a delicate dance for decades now but has only gotten harder in recent years with both sides culturally and politically growing further apart. TW-actress Ariel Lin this year has been venturing back into Mainland Chinese projects and did a variety program. This week she got into trouble back home when she made a statement that she was a Chengdu person, which the Taiwanese took offense to since she is Taiwan born and raised. She later released a statement that Taipei, Chengdu, and Yilan are the cities where her various grandparents are from, and without her grandparents there would be no her, so she feels like she can say she is from any of those places. This seems to have quelled the annoyance towards her.
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LOL she kind of deserves it,she has never been there and knows no one there,didn’t live there, how is she a Chengdu person, sucking up much just to get some credit from Chinese Nitezens is cheap.
I read she previously shared she did visit Chengdu in the past, so it might be a bit much to say she has never been there.
https://dramapanda.com/2024/08/ariel-lin-raises-eyebrows-claiming-im-from-chengdu.html
I agree her calling herself a Chengdu person on a Chinese variety show was probably to appeal to the Chinese audience, but it’s nonetheless nice for her to acknowledge the origins of her grandparents, as it’s true there would be no her without them.
Not her “grandparents” but her grandfather and she only visited Chengdu for the first time on a TV show just a while back; not cuz she went there to connect with her roots and see her grandpa’s hometown.
How is it strange for someone to acknogledge their roots or where they come from? Ethnicity and nationality does not equal the same. Might sound off in English but I feel it’s completely normal in Chinese linguistic atmosphere to state “what kind of person” someone is. Especially in Chinese culture, people usually give special importance to their ancestral home (籍貫). And in this case, Ariel Lin referred herself as Chengdu-ren because her ancestral home is in Chengdu (we use the paternal side).
I was not born nor raised in China/HK, neither do my friends. But when we meet new people who are ethnically Han-Chinese too, we also introduce ourselves as “I’m xx yan, I’m xx yan” (in Cantonese).
And people are always calling out a certain group of people being hyper sensitive or with a glass of heart – seems like all ethnically Han-Chinese people are kind of same same in terms of sensitivity lol.
I think this is similar to something I’ve heard in some Hong Kong dramas before. The drama characters calls themselves Guangdong person and Chaozhou person, but it simply means their ancestors hailed from that region. Seeing as her statement about her various grandparents has quelled the annoyance, it must be something that’s accepted among the Taiwanese community.
You always have a lot of unrealistic imagination about the cultures you don’t know, American and Taiwanese included. LOL. Stop positioning yourself as if voicing for the Taiwanese you definitely have zero knowledge of. SMH! 👎 Her explanation was not accepted by the majority of Taiwanese people based upon reactions online. They just don’t give her much attention any more, as how they have treated all other similar CCP ass kissers after the reactions to the first incidents of bootlicking. LOL. Entertainment is always treated insignificant in Taiwanese daily life. They would shrug off easily after any initial ruckus. There are always so many noises going on to catch more ppl’s attention in that society. Showbiz celebs don’t mean anything to the ppl there.
As far as I know per my daily exposure to Taiwanese news and social media, she is still mocked as of today.
I mean her grandfather did decide to leave China to escape the current political party so… if he didn’t she would probably not be born…
The grandparents may not have wanted to be in China due to the political situation, but they can still think fondly of their times in Chengdu. If they’re like my Chinese family, they’re always talking about their hometown. And the foods they eat and the customs they practice may be specific to their hometown. My parents are from China and sometimes I get, “we xxx city/province people don’t eat yyy like zzz province.”
During the show, did she clarify that it’s her grandparents who came from Cheng Du? If yes then that’s good.
If not then it’s misleading. I would never say I am from a particular hometown unless I was born or raised there….. I would right away say it’s my ancestors’ hometown.
Anyway she is a likable veteran actress so I hope they would overlook this statement or slip of the tongue.
She should have said that her grandpa is from chengdu. Instead of saying that she is a chengdu person which implies that she is from there but she is not.
It is like when Americans say they are Italian but really their grandpa was born in Italy and then moved to the U.S.
Yes, but there is such a thing as Italian American, and I have heard people refer to themselves like that. People acknowledge their ethnicities in various ways. I believe the choice is up to the individual.
LOL. Bootlicking failed the big time, at least in Taiwan. Even her college professor came out to rebuke her and told her not to send annual greetings anymore. As of the moment before getting on Koala’s site, I’ve been receiving numerous memes mocking her on Taiwanese social media every day. Her career in Taiwan is doomed and definitely will go downhills, like once famous singer Hsiao Ching-teng (Jam Hsiao). It’s fine if they want to offend Taiwanese fans
simply to make money in China. Just stick to the choice. Given the current status quo across the Strait, it’s impossible to work both sides of the street anymore.
🤣🤣🤣 Sorry but your “Both sides of the street” comment really made me laugh…
Perhaps she has the gift of ubiquity !!! I may not be an asian but actually even in countries which used to be peaceful it’s becoming hard for some communities thanks to the conflicts but also with the rise of anti-semitism, racism, …the grudge of some countries about colonialism, wars, religions,…it’s exhausting ! John Lennon’s “Imagine” is more than ever an utopia .
@cahill, I need to share with you a story…happened just this week. One of my bestie who is gay recently went to Paris, he went to a gay bar to see who he might meet and you know after 😉😉.
There was a super handsome French who chat up with him. thru good looking, but the guy just talked all night about how amazing France is…How fair it is, how equal it treats everyone, how it is racially harmonious in French, the best place to live etc…
My friend could not get a word in, after the guy went to the toilet, my friend dashed off. He said he cannot bear a night with such a guy.🤣🤣
As a french , i understand your friend . It’s true that we cannot complain too much if one compare with other countries but i’ll be honest intolerance is rampant, rising ,… acts of anti-simitism, amalgam between Muslims and fundamentalists of Islam, homophobia, school bullying, … I’m sad to see my country which used to be The Land of Enlightenment becoming obscurantist . My words may be harsh but that’s what i feel .Jean Paul Sartre wrote L’enfer c’est les autres …so true . @HL do you know George Michael ‘s song ” Praying for time ” great lyrics and music ! And if you can listen this french song of 90’s “Un homme extraordinaire ” by Les Innocents the lyrics are a masterpiece ! French artists aren’t great with music but they ace it when it’s about lyrics .
@Cahill, OMG!!! I am a George Michael fan, so am… Such a beautiful and talented artist but so deeply troubled. His song are so full of real emotions..hearing him sing, it is never just a voice…I can hear his soul singing. I miss him..
I’m a big fan , his album “Listen without prejudice ” is a masterpiece . His duet with Elton John “Don’t let the sun goes down me ” still gives me goosebumps . It’s my best friend who made me discover WHAM in my teen days !!! Are you from the generation who watched Live Aid concert at Wembley ? Duran duran , Tears for Fears , Eurythmics …were also supposed to participate but couldn’t . Shout, Ordinary world,…still great songs .
Darling..I am 50yrs old…definitely that generation.. And I still have the cassettes of those you mentioned. 🤣🤣 I still miss those musics alot…
I’m 50 years old too ! The best generation ! Period . 😍🎉🎉🎉🎆
@cahill, I just found out you’re not a boomer as you once claimed. LOL. Boomers are those who were born 1946 – 1964. You’re far from it.
You and @HL digressed. LOL. It’s interesting to read the chat.
For this topic, however, the story would be told differently from Taiwanese perspectives. The majority of Taiwanese people can’t tolerate those who go by and ass kissing CCP’s propaganda while still taking advantage of all the welfare benefits (specifically the excellent healthcare coverage in Taiwan) at the same time. For decades, CCP has been brainwashing the public to believe that ALL the Taiwanese are the Chinese (which is a fallacy based upon archeological evidence) and therefore, Taiwan is part of China even though CCP has NEVER ruled over one single inch of Taiwanese territories. LMAO. China also used this false excuse to justify military exercises (with fighter jets circling) the island on a daily basis to pose constant threats to the cross-Strait stability. Therefore, Taiwanese society looks down on those who parroting such CCP’s state agenda by implying “I’m Chinese too.” A lot of Taiwanese celebs did so to please CCP authority and make money out of the Chinese. That’s there career choice. But they are despised and mocked by the majority in the Taiwanese society. They won’t have any career prospects any more in Taiwan. I’m pretty sure about that per my connections in Taiwan.
There were speculations from the CCP stooges on this site. What they said is obviously far from the reality too.
Yea, she could’ve just said “i have some chengdu influence in me thru my grandpa,” but that might be too long. whatever, just a way to try and relate to contestants maybe.
This topic is always delicate. Might as well just separate work and not work with each other.
She is one of the most scandal-free actress in Taiwan… Now this happen.. all because she said something too quickly due to her beloved grandparents…
Time to move on to next news… this is really not a ripe melon.
🙋🏻♀️ guilty here… when people ask me, I say I’m Cantonese, but I’ve never been to Guangzhou in my life…
It’s still part of your heritage even if you haven’t visited the place
if her grandfather is from Chengdu and it’s considered ok to say you’re ‘from Chengdu’ if your ancestors were (like someone said above it’s like how Americans call themselves whatever ethnicity their immigrant ancestors were, like Irish, Italian, Asian or whatever), then obviously the clarification did its job.
TBH, nowadays, Americans rarely mentioned their ancestry after generations of immigration, unless they are the first generation immigrants or the first generation Americans and if you asked them. Most people here would say which states they are from, born and/or raised up in.
guess it depends how you’re phrasing your question, but asians don’t just say they’re american or californian. many still refer to themselves as chinese american or korean american. they may not strictly say chinese or korean, but they do reference their ancestry even if they’re born here.
@Jia, I assure you only Asian American would reference themselves this way, me not included. I’ve almost never heard any other ethnic groups referring themselves to their ancestry in casual conversations. American people will recognize your ethnicity of being Asian, Hispanic, Black, Caucasian most likely. But rarely have people cared so much about the country where your ancestors emigrated from unless they did it on purpose for specific implications.
I mean, my parents are from Thailand/Laos but I’m born in the USA and will ever say I’m from there even though I visit there a few times. That is just me.
I dont really get the anger from people because she said this. Because in my country even if you didnt visit the place ur grandparents are from, you still count as person from that place! Its about culture, the way you live & feel similar to thatplace, your people, sometimes having similar accent. These things count even if you didnt live therein my country & culture…