When famous saxophonist Kenny G tweeted a selfie from a Hong Kong protest site, he probably wasn't expecting to be rebuked by the Chinese government. The musician has since made it extremely clear that he is in no way supporting the demonstrators in Hong Kong, and that his appearance at a protest site was purely coincidental.
I was not trying to defy government orders with my last post. I was in Hong Kong as a stop on my way to perform at Mission Hills
— Kenny G (@officialkennyg) October 22, 2014
And happened to walk by the protest area as I was walking around Hong Kong as a tourist. Some fans took my picture.
— Kenny G (@officialkennyg) October 22, 2014
Kenny G is an inexplicable phenomenon in China, where his 1989 number Going Home is played incessantly at the day's end, so much so that people have reportedly had their habits altered by its smooth melodies.
According to The Guardian, Chinese authorities were displeased when the jazz musician tweeted a photo of himself standing in front of a pro-democracy poster, along with wishes for a "peaceful and positive conclusion to the situation." Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said to a daily news briefing on Wednesday, "We hope that foreign governments and individuals speak and act cautiously and not support the Occupy Central and other illegal activities in any form."
The curly-haired musician has made it amply clear that he has no real knowledge of the political situation and that his impromptu visit was "part of an innocent walk around Hong Kong." He also stressed that the V-sign that he flashed in the photo should not mistaken as anything but a sign for peace, and that he loved both China and Hong Kong.