In August, Dee Hsu was accused by Chinese netizens of being pro-Taiwanese independence after she called Taiwanese Olympians “our national athletes”.

The scandal and Dee's subsequent efforts to clear the air, resulted in her losing multiple endorsements in China and fans on both sides of the straits.

However, more than a month later, it appears that Dee has been exonerated, and by the powers that be, no less.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), has stepped forward to clear Dee’s name, calling the scandal a “deliberate act” by those with “political manipulation” in mind.

The Taiwan Affairs Office is an administrative agency under the State Council of Mainland China.

Fenglian said, “[Rumours] targeting Taiwanese celebrities working in the mainland have [given us reason to] suspect that certain political forces are finding fault (…) and sabotaging cultural interactions.”

She added that the agency will “continuously and actively support cooperation between Taiwan and the mainland, and we warmly welcome Taiwanese stars to work in the mainland. She then called for netizens to “sharpen [their] instincts and not allow secessionists to cause problems with their bad behaviour”.

Dee posted a screenshot of the statement on her Weibo, and also thanked the TAO for the clarification. She added that she hopes rumour mongers will stop adding fuel to the fire.

Photos: PBE Media