On April 3, 2024, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake occurred in the waters of Hualien County, Taiwan Province, China, with a focal depth of 12 kilometers. The earthquake has attracted widespread attention. Mainland netizens are worried about the safety of Taiwanese compatriots. Taiwanese celebrities have also posted messages to express their safety, such as Xiao S, JJ Lin, Jay Chou, Quinlivan, Rainie Yang, Shi Baiyu, Liu Ruoying, Wei Ruxuan, Chen Yihan, etc.
These celebrities have all posted on ins, and some of them have posted on both ins and Weibo, such as Rene Liu, Rainie Yang, and Shi Boyu. Jay Chou, JJ Lin, Xiao S, Kun Ling, Wei Ruxuan, and Chen Yihan have not posted on Weibo. Among these six celebrities, only Jay Chou does not have a personal Weibo, while the other six have. What does it mean if they don’t post on Weibo? Don't you care about mainland fans?
It is understandable that Xiao S does not post on Weibo, because she has not developed an acting career in the mainland for many years. The first is because her position seems to be problematic, and the second is because of the conflict between Big S and Wang Xiaofei, which caused Little S's reputation in the mainland to deteriorate, and Little S basically gave up on opportunities in the Mainland. Jay Chou, JJ Lin, Kun Ling, Wei Ruxuan, and Chen Yihan all have acting careers in mainland China.
Some people may say: Jay Chou doesn’t have Weibo, so he doesn’t have to report for safety, but Jay Chou’s company has Weibo. When Jay Chou releases new albums and songs or holds concerts, Jay Chou's company's Weibo posts are very active. That's because they want to earn money from mainland netizens. But if something as big as an earthquake happened, wouldn't Jay Chou immediately inform his mainland fans that he was safe? Can't make sense?
Among Taiwanese celebrities, they generally choose to communicate with fans on Instagram instead of Weibo. As a global social platform, Instagram’s user groups are more concentrated overseas and in Taiwan. For Taiwanese celebrities, ins has become an important platform for them to record their personal lives. On Weibo, Taiwanese celebrities are more likely to publish work-related information, such as promotion of new works, commercial activities, etc.
The information posted by Taiwanese celebrities on ins is more personalized in content and more colorful in form. They not only use text, but also like to add pictures and expressions to make the message more vivid. On Weibo, due to the wider audience and cultural differences, Taiwanese celebrities' speeches are relatively more formal and cautious. Behind this phenomenon, it reflects Taiwanese celebrities’ different positioning and understanding of the two platforms.
Non-famous entertainment critic Wu Qinggong pointed out: Instagram is more like a private space, while Weibo is more like a public stage. In private space, Taiwanese celebrities are more willing to express their personal emotions and life status, while on the public stage, Taiwanese celebrities pay more attention to the norms of image and words and deeds. On Instagram, Taiwanese celebrities are more likely to use dialect, share their daily life, and interact more closely with fans. On Weibo, Taiwanese celebrities need to consider the acceptance of mainland fans, and the content must be cross-strait.
Especially when it comes to cross-strait relations, mainland netizens are often prone to over-interpretation of the words and deeds of Taiwanese celebrities. Therefore, I hope there is nothing wrong with Jay Chou, Kun Ling, JJ Lin, Wei Ruxuan, and Chen Yihan’s stance. They are just not used to using Weibo, and it’s not that they have any other ideas. Of course, I still hope they can learn from Rene Liu, Rainie Yang, and Shi Boyu. After all, "reporting safety" will not cause misunderstanding.
