Malaysia’s handling of the disappearance of flight MH370 has disgruntled China, and Malaysian celebrities are also facing a possible threat on their careers in mainland China. On March 24, the Malaysian government announced that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 had crashed into the Indian Ocean, killing everyone on board. Since 153 of the 239 people on board were Chinese citizens, many Chinese celebrities took to Weibo to express their discontentment at the Malaysian government, criticizing it for being irresponsible and incompetent. Chen Kun (陳坤), who has over 72 million followers on his Weibo, expressed his utter disappointment at the Malaysian government and Malaysia Airlines on his Weibo, proclaiming that he will boycott Malaysian products and tourism indefinitely. Not all netizens agreed with Chen Kun. One user said, “As an artist, how can [you] be so irrational? Your self-righteous mind goes on to say that there are [153] Chinese on the plane, but what about the people from other countries? The Chinese were not the only ones who lost their families. Many Malaysians also lost their families too. Please respect us Malaysians, thank you.” Another Chinese netizen wrote, “To boycott the airline because of this incident is like stop eating after choking on food.” A Malaysian citizen said, “Please thoroughly observe the situation and understand it deeply. Do not just speak about what you see on the surface, which can lead to tens of thousands of Chinese citizens to slander the innocent.” Chen Kun recently attended a public event in Shanghai and was asked to speak about the comment he made on boycotting the Malaysian government on March 25. Chen Kun stressed that his comment was not meant to be inflammatory, pointing out that he was only expressing his anger and disgruntlement. “I am a public figure, but every time I see the pain that these sufferers had to endure, I also begin to feel it myself. My remarks were only directed to the Malaysian government and Malaysia Airlines. In the last 17 days, we have all seen the government’s prevarication on the incident.” He continued, “I am not trying to appeal or push anything. I am only expressing my own attitude. I am not trying to counter any third party outside the Malaysian government and Malaysia Airlines. During such an important phase, I hope everyone to please not blow up [exaggerate] our anger.” Creds: Sina
