<p class="title">A South Korean pop star has become the latest celebrity to spark anger on the Chinese internet after he "liked" a tweet about the divisive issue of pro-democracy unrest in Hong Kong.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Choi Siwon, a member of popular K-pop boy band Super Junior, was forced to apologise after liking a post on Twitter by South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo about the Hong Kong protests.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Twitter is blocked in China, but opinions that rile Beijing regularly make their way across the "Great Firewall" of censorship and go viral on Chinese social media.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Choi apologised on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform Sunday night, saying he hoped that there would soon be an end to "the violence and chaos" in Hong Kong.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Since the controversy caused by this behaviour makes you all feel disgusted and disappointed, I express my sincerest apologies to all of you," he wrote on his Weibo account, where he has 16.5 million followers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Choi also unliked the Twitter post.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But the controversy had already spread, with a Choi fan group in China announcing on Weibo Monday it was closing as a result of the fracas.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"No one and nothing can shake our own position about patriotism," the group posted.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Chinese state-run Global Times said Choi had "liked" a post that "glamorized Hong Kong rioters".</p>.<p class="bodytext">Other online users also expressed their anger.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"(I) will not forgive you, because my country is more important," wrote one.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Fans also accused Choi of not being sincere in his apology and criticised him for posting it only to Weibo and not to other platforms.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Choi had already faced controversy in South Korea when a renowned restaurateur died after being attacked by his family's pet dog in 2017.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A number of international brands and celebrities have found themselves facing Chinese anger after being perceived to adopt a stance on the pro-democracy protests that have rocked Hong Kong for months.</p>.<p class="bodytext">One of the most high-profile rows saw popular Houston Rockets basketball games pulled from the air by state broadcasters after the Rockets general manager posted a later-deleted tweet supporting the protesters. </p>
<p class="title">A South Korean pop star has become the latest celebrity to spark anger on the Chinese internet after he "liked" a tweet about the divisive issue of pro-democracy unrest in Hong Kong.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Choi Siwon, a member of popular K-pop boy band Super Junior, was forced to apologise after liking a post on Twitter by South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo about the Hong Kong protests.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Twitter is blocked in China, but opinions that rile Beijing regularly make their way across the "Great Firewall" of censorship and go viral on Chinese social media.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Choi apologised on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform Sunday night, saying he hoped that there would soon be an end to "the violence and chaos" in Hong Kong.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Since the controversy caused by this behaviour makes you all feel disgusted and disappointed, I express my sincerest apologies to all of you," he wrote on his Weibo account, where he has 16.5 million followers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Choi also unliked the Twitter post.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But the controversy had already spread, with a Choi fan group in China announcing on Weibo Monday it was closing as a result of the fracas.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"No one and nothing can shake our own position about patriotism," the group posted.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Chinese state-run Global Times said Choi had "liked" a post that "glamorized Hong Kong rioters".</p>.<p class="bodytext">Other online users also expressed their anger.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"(I) will not forgive you, because my country is more important," wrote one.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Fans also accused Choi of not being sincere in his apology and criticised him for posting it only to Weibo and not to other platforms.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Choi had already faced controversy in South Korea when a renowned restaurateur died after being attacked by his family's pet dog in 2017.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A number of international brands and celebrities have found themselves facing Chinese anger after being perceived to adopt a stance on the pro-democracy protests that have rocked Hong Kong for months.</p>.<p class="bodytext">One of the most high-profile rows saw popular Houston Rockets basketball games pulled from the air by state broadcasters after the Rockets general manager posted a later-deleted tweet supporting the protesters. </p>