'I'm from Singapore': Coco Lee riles up Chinese netizens in social media video

When Coco Lee made her dance video and mouthed "I'm from Singapore", she probably didn't expect people to get butthurt about it.

However, with the internet being what it is, the inclusion of that phrase has riled up Chinese netizens who seem peeved that the 45-year-old Hong Kong singer somehow isn't acknowledging her place of birth.

In a video that was initially uploaded on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) and shared on Facebook, Coco can be seen dancing with her sister Nancy in the 11-second clip. The video also started off with the phrase "I'm from Singapore" which Coco mimed before she started grooving.

According to reports, netizens on Douyin demanded to know if the singer was from China or Singapore, and Coco reportedly declared her place of birth as "Hong Kong, China"; but her comment can no longer be found.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/16965777714/videos/371650374037886[/embed]

Local entertainment portal 8Days did some sleuthing and found that the background track in the video is a remix used for a popular dance challenge on the social media app. Many users, they wrote, can be seen miming the phrase as well regardless of their origins.

Ironically, the troublesome phrase originated from Chinese singer Karry Wang when he was acting in a skit.

And in case you had anymore doubts about the seriousness of Coco's video, let's just say that TikTok is a place where the Chin Challenge came from.

In other words, we don't think Coco really meant to declare Singapore as her place of birth.

bryanlim@asiaone.com