Hong Kong pop singer and actor Pakho Chau Pak-ho has likely damaged his career in the Chinese mainland for allegedly supporting Hong Kong protests as his scenes in a new film may have been drastically reduced, another has failed to premier and his concert in the mainland has been put off. Photo: IC

Hong Kong pop singer and actor Pakho Chau Pak-ho has likely damaged his career in the Chinese mainland for allegedly supporting Hong Kong protests as his scenes in a new film may have been drastically reduced, another has failed to premier and his concert in the mainland has been put off.

Many netizens accused Chau of supporting Hong Kong secession and riots, posting a picture of Chau standing close with secessionist leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung on Sina Weibo. 

Chau was also accused of posting support of Hong Kong rioters, such as writing "Thank you and R.I.P." which was taken to mean his mourning of an oppositionist who killed himself during a protest over the extradition bill, via his Instagram account named punkhippie, Hong Kong-based online news portal HK01 reported on August 30. 

Chau responded on Sina Weibo on August 26 declaring that he "loves the motherland" and he "never supported any Hong Kong secession or illegal violence." 

He also deleted all his posts on Instagram to quiet the accusations, but his move has not convinced netizens. Many netizens slammed Chau, saying that he is a double-faced entertainer who doesn't truly love China and only made the retractions to save his career. 

Chau's concert on August 31 in Zhongshan, South China's Guangdong Province had been cancelled due to bad weather, but the organizer announced that they will give concertgoers refunds and has not set a date for a rescheduled concert, HK01 reported on Wednesday.

A Global Times reporter also found that his movie The Trapped, which was supposed to be released on September 6, was still not reached theaters as of Sunday, and the production's official Sina Weibo has not responded to the delay.

As one of the lead actors in the movie Line Walker 3, Chau's scene has been greatly abridged and shooting took only about a month, HK01 said.

Chau is not the only Hong Kong artist facing career roadblocks for expressing inappropriate opinions. The face of the Hong Kong actor Wong Hei was blurred in the latest episode of a reality TV show broadcast by State-run China Central Television (CCTV) after Wang reportedly posted inappropriate content on Hong Kong-mainland ties on social media. 

According to the Transport Department of Hong Kong, the riots have caused billions of dollars of damage. Some 20,000 meters of railings have been damaged and the department has spent around HK$150 million ($20 million), on maintenance of road facilities and police equipment.