A photo of Hong Kong idol Elkie. Photo: Weibo

Hong Kong idol Elkie, also known as Chong Tingyan, reposted a message on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Friday that got firm support from Chinese netizens as it pays homage to China's frontier soldiers who safeguard the country's national sovereignty and territory following the tragic incident in which four Chinese martyrs died in a border clash with India in June 2020. 

Alongside the Hong Kong idol's repost, she added, "Thank you all for safeguarding the country. I salute Chinese frontier soldiers!" Her words quickly attracted the attention of netizens, with the majority sharing her stance.  

On Sunday, Elkie also shared a similar patriotic post on Instagram with a picture of a poster that says: "Where I stand is China." Even though the post received 60,000 likes, sour comments still besieged the Hong Kong idol such as "Unfollow and bye" as well as questions about whether the idol really wanted to take this stance. 

"I guess she has to say such things a few times as she wants to make money in the Chinese mainland entertainment circle," posted one netizen on Instagram. 

Attentive fans pointed out that this is not the first time that Elkie, who returned to China after ending her stint as a member of South Korean girl group CLC earlier in February, has expressed her patriotism in public. 

"She has always been like this. I remember during a performance in China she referred to the country as 'our China,'" wrote one netizen on Sina Weibo.

"She cannot be faking it. I saw interviews in which she was natural when expressing her fondness for China," said another. 

Although Elkie has not responded to these negative comments on Instagram, more and more netizens have started to defend her and called for others to cease their threats. 

"What's wrong with a Chinese idol loving her country? She calls the Chinese language her mother tongue, it is none of you guys' business" posted one netizen on Instagram. 

"Using words such as 'you will lose us' to threaten the idol? She needs fans' attention indeed, but nothing from fans like you, stop it," said another. 

Besides Elkie, other popular stars born in Hong Kong such as William Chan and Jackson Wang have expressed patriotism for their country as well as pride for being Chinese. 

"To be honest, I really don't know much about Elkie and her band, but I think I will pay more attention to her work from now on," a 21-year-old Chinese fan of Chinese and South Korean idol culture told the Global Times on Monday.