Beijing blacklists two artists over pop song 'Fragile' poking fun at Chinese nationalists

Malaysian rapper Namewee and Australian singer Kimberley Chen have been blacklisted by mainland China over their hit pop song titled Fragile. The song, which has been making rounds on the internet, include lyrics poking fun at Chinese nationalists and the Chinese Communist Party. The pink-themed music video of the track features Namewee and Kimberley.

China blacklists Namewee and Kimberley Chen

According to a report from Agence France Presse (AFP), the two democratic Taiwan based artists have been blacklisted by Beijing over their latest Mandarin track Fragile which has now hit over 30 million views on Youtube. Released last month, the track has been rapidly climbing musical charts across various Asian countries despite being scrubbed by censors. Penned by the Malaysian rapper, the peppy song includes lyrics poking fun at Chinese nationalists.

The lyrics often highlight the term 'little pinks' used for China's online army of nationalist commenters as well as Beijing's authoritarian government. Mandarin artists seldom get entangled in controversial ventures considering Beijing's tendency to punish those who are critical of their regime. However, Chen and Namewee's initiative to take on taboo subjects has struck a chord with many as the song continues to trend in several nations.

Starting from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore to Malaysia, the song has also made waves internationally in places like Australia, Canada and the United States. However, Chinese mouthpieces accused the singers of insulting the country and within weeks of the release of the pop track, the singers' Chinese social media handles were taken down.

Namewee and Kimberley Chen on being blacklisted

According to AFP, the 38-year-old rapper has brushed off the blacklisting as he stated, ''When you say I am banned, I don't feel that way. I feel it's the people who can't listen to this song that is being banned.'' On the other hand, Kimberly Chen responded to her accounts being taken down by singing altered lyrics from Fragile to celebrate having access to other popular social media accounts which are banned in China namely Instagram and Facebook.

Image: Instagram/@nameweephoto