We don’t know if it is opening night jitters, but we do know what gets under Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s skin: Rude requests to speak Mandarin.
On Oct 13, Eason Chan kicked off the first of his nine-night residency at the Cotai Arena in Macau to huge fanfare.
However, in a clip posted on Weibo, it seems the singer didn’t appreciate being told to “Speak Mandarin!” while he was explaining the inspiration behind his world tour on stage.
Chan’s face changed briefly before responding in Thai and then English. “I love speaking whatever the way and language I want,” he said.
“You can say, ‘Do you mind speaking in Mandarin? But (you said) ‘Speak Mandarin!” Yes, I can speak Mandarin and I can do it fluently,” he added with an eye roll.
The Hong Kong star also schooled the person on how to properly ask for something.
“You can ask, you can say ‘excuse me’, ‘please’, and ‘sorry to trouble you’. Don’t misunderstand me. Even if someone speaks English to me like this today, I’ll tell him to shut up! You don’t understand,” said Chan to the mostly appreciative crowd.
Eason Chan even brought up legendary British singer David Bowie.
“Should he be performing here today, would they ask him to speak Mandarin? It’s so strange! I think I better put my headset on and continue singing.”
Netizens have come out in support of Chan saying it is reasonable for him to speak Cantonese while performing in Macau.
“His mother tongue is Cantonese. Everyone has their right to choose, regardless of where the venue is,” said one supporter.
This story was originally published in 8Days
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