“I am Chinese, sorry”: Hong Kong actor apologises for praising Queen Elizabeth

A veteran Hong Kong opera star apologised and declared his patriotism on Thursday after his praise for Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth II sparked a backlash among nationalists in China.

Thousands of Hong Kong residents have queued up outside the city’s British consulate this week to sign a condolence book for the late monarch who died after 70 years on the throne.

Among the mourners was Law Kar-ying, a heavyweight of the Cantonese opera scene, who published a selfie on Instagram from the queue and a message that read: “Hong Kong was a blessed land during her reign.”

Instagram is banned in mainland China but Law’s post went viral on other social media sites, sparking anger and criticism among nationalists.

On Thursday, Law took to China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo to post a video apologising for “making remarks of mourning without thinking them through”.