Dee Hsu Photo: Sina Weibo

Popular TV hostess Dee Hsu from Taiwan island restated that she is not a "secessionist" and thanked the spokesperson with the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council Zhu Fenglian, who said on the same day that recent "secessionist" accusations against some Taiwan celebrities were probably deliberately hyped up by separatist political forces on the island.

Hsu forwarded Zhu's statement on social media on Wednesday evening. "I would like to thank the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council for helping clarify that I'm not a secessionist," she wrote on Sina Weibo. "The rumormongers please stop spreading misinformation."

Earlier that day, Zhu said at a press conference that people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits have highly suspected that it was some political forces in Taiwan who are deliberately provoking troubles, smearing some Taiwan entertainers as separatists.

These forces attempted to disrupt and obstruct the normal development of Taiwan entertainers on the mainland, wreck cross-Straits cultural exchanges, sow discord between compatriots on both sides of the Straits, and undermine cross-Straits relations, Zhu said.

"We hope and call on compatriots on both sides of the Straits to be highly vigilant on it," she added.

Known as Little S, Hsu was accused by some netizens of being a "Taiwan secessionist" around August 2, after she showed her support for Taiwan island's athletes at the Tokyo Olympic Games on Instagram, saying she wanted to invite "our national players" to her house for a meal.

Hsu soon deleted the controversial post and clarified on Weibo on August 5 that she was not a secessionist. Hsu's statement nonetheless didn't stop several brands from ending commercial cooperation with her.

Observers from both sides of the Straits analyzed that it was probably the Taiwan secessionist forces and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities behind it, as they kept hyping up the incident to play the anti-China card. They are the main culprits for tensions among netizens across the Straits, observers said.

The mainland has always actively supported cross-Straits cultural exchanges and cooperation, and warmly welcomed Taiwan entertainers to come and realize their dreams on the mainland, Zhu noted on Wednesday.

Global Times