Last August, S.H.E member Hebe Tien found herself cancelled by Chinese netizens all because she posted an Instagram story of herself eating pasta.
For those not in the know, Hebe's post went up during US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Chinese netizens saw it as a sign of US support for Taiwan’s independence as pasta is known as “Italian noodles” in Mandarin, and well, Nancy is of Italian descent.
You may find the association a stretch but Chinese netizens took it really seriously and went on to boycott Hebe.
Her song ‘Li Dao’ (離島), which can be translated as “leaving an island”, was said to have “unsuitable lyrics”, and taken off streaming sites in China.
Online streaming site Migu Music also removed all songs and information related to Hebe.
It was recently reported that Hebe will guest star on the upcoming season of Chinese Restaurant
It seems the tide has changed for Hebe in 2023.
According to reports, Hebe will guest star on the seventh season of reality show, Chinese Restaurant, which sees Huang Xiaoming running a, you guessed it, Chinese restaurant overseas.
Many took Hebe’s upcoming appearance on the show as an indication that her boycott has been lifted.
Though the official cast list for the show has yet to be announced, many netizens have expressed their unhappiness at the news, with many asking the singer to "stop making money from the Mainland".
Hebe’s fans, on the other hand, eagerly await her return.
Hebe took to her Facebook page on her birthday last month to tell her fans that she will be greeting them this August at the Taipei Arena
The whole pasta situation aside, Hebe’s fans have been longing to see her on stage again.
Her tour in Kaohsiung last Sep 9 was postponed as she had lost her voice due to a cold. When she finally took to the stage on Sep 16 and 17, Taiwan was hit by a series of earthquakes, resulting in the cancellation of her Sep 18 and 19 shows.
Then in November, Hebe suffered a fall at home and injured her lower back. She spent half a month recuperating from the accident.
Thankfully, Hebe fans can now rejoice as the star has announced that she will resume her tour, starting this August at the Taipei Arena.
Photos: Hebe Tien/ Facebook, ETToday
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