BLACKPINK receives backlash from Chinese fanbase for calling them ‘Macanese’ instead of ‘Chinese’

South Korea’s popular girl group Blackpink received backlash from its Chinese fanbase after they were identified as ‘Macanese’. This issue has been a trending topic on Chinese social media Weibo, and the group was labelled insensitive. 

It is said that describing people from Macau as Macanese is insensitive because it refers to those people of Portuguese descent born and raised in Macau, not necessarily pertaining directly to the general people of Macau. 

After thanking their fans for their two-day concert and labelling them as Macanese, Blackpink received negative comments from the netizens. Many believed that the K-Pop group intentionally avoided using the term ‘Chinese’. The fans deemed that not including Macau as part of China was disrespectful toward the country and its fans. 

However, some people were not offended by the term ‘Macanese’ because the Western media has been using it recently. Chinese media has also used ‘Macau residents’ and ‘Macau people’. Other fans also defended Blackpink and said it is common to greet fans of a specific city and that people overreacted. 

Blackpink and YG Entertainment have not yet released any statements about this conflict. Nonetheless, the agency edited their social media posts, changing the word ‘Macanese’ to ‘Macu’.