Qian Bai-hui Photo: VCG

A popular 1990s singer from the island of Taiwan posted on social media the mainland identity card that she obtained 20 years ago, arousing massive attention from her fans in the mainland.

Qian Bai-hui came into the spotlight with a short video she posted on China's short-video platform Douyin. In the video, she introduced herself saying: "I am Qian Bai-hui, from the Gaoshan ethnic group from Taiwan, China."

Then, the 58-year-old singer took out her mainland identity card and showed it in front of the camera. "No matter where I am, the motherland is my strong support," she posted on the video.

While the secessionist newspaper Liberty Times responded with sarcasm to Qian's video saying that "we do not even know this person at all," many fans on Sina Weibo and other social media began to recall their memories of her songs that were popular in the mainland in the 1990s.

"I listened to her songs when I was really young. That was the time when I just graduated from college and went to work. I remembered that I bought this really expensive stereo to play her songs every Saturday morning when I did not need to go to work," a 51-year-old fan surnamed Lu told the Global Times.

Born in Hsinchu, Taiwan, in 1963, Qian launched her singing career when she was in the third grade of high school and doing part-time job in a restaurant. That is when she firstly fell in love with music. 

Later in 1989, with songs like Walking Past the Coffee Shop, Qian became a smash hit in the mainland pop music scene and since, she has been being loved by mainland fans. Two years later she married and settled in Beijing.

In 1995, Qian featured in the TV series Butterfly Lovers produced by Shanghai Film Studio, adapted from a traditional Chinese legendary love story between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. She attracted more fans for her role in that drama.

"Many singers like Qian, who gained popularity, especially in the 1990s, has always had a closer connection with the mainland," a fan told the Global Times.

Huang An is another celebrity from the island of Taiwan appreciated by many netizens. The comedian, singer, and TV host is best known for his 1992 hit songs, The New Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies Dream. 

He has caught the public's attention not only for his work, but also is known  as a "Taiwan secessionist buster" for reporting several secessionist celebrities to the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.