Beijing isn't happy that Kenny G went to the Hong Kong protests
Iconic saxophone player and jazz musician Kenny G has quite a following in China — but his fans don't include the country's government in Beijing.
Kenny G tweeted a photo of himself at Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests on Wednesday. Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, stressed at a press conference Wednesday that the government considers the Occupy Central movement illegal.
"Kenny G's musical works are widely popular in China, but China's position on the illegal Occupy Central activities in Hong Kong is very clear," Chunying said. "We hope that foreign governments and individuals speak and act cautiously and not support the Occupy Central and other illegal activities in any form."
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Update: After Beijing's statement, Kenny G clarified his original tweet. Kenny G noted that he was "not trying to defy the Chinese government" and had "happened to come across the protest zone while walking around Hong Kong as a tourist," according to The Associated Press."I am not supporting the demonstrators as I don't really know anything about the situation," Kenny G later tweeted. "I only wanted to share my wish for Peace for Hong Kong and for all of China."
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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
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