South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink Photo: Sina Weibo

 South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink was mired in controversy recently in China after calling fans from China's Macao SAR "Macanese." A subsequent apology did not entirely ease the criticism from netizens. 

A Sina Weibo post dated May 23 by the girl group which featured pictures of the group and their fans thanked "Macanese" fans for their support after their two-day concert in the city sparked huge backlash from netizens. 

Some said describing people from Macao as "Macanese" is inappropriate as it refers to people of Portuguese descent born and bred in Macao so it cannot represent the general people from Macao. 

The criticism did not quieten down when the group changed from previous "Macanese BLINKs" to "Macau BLINKs" on its post dated May 29. 

Some netizens said Blackpink intentionally avoided the use of the word "Chinese" and not add "China" behind the word "Macao." The behavior of not regarding Macao as part of China is disrespectful, others said. Many have also called for a boycott against the girl group. 

Some netizens shrugged off the wording "Macanese" as they spotted the word has been frequently used in some Western media reports. Chinese media usually refer people from Macao as "Macao residents" and "Macao people." 



Global Times