After the whirlwind visit to Taiwan, mainland Chinese actor Hu Ge, who returned to Shanghai, was featured in a video released by Tencent Video’s official account on the 16th, promoting the Shanghai International Film Festival. However, in the video, Hu Ge’s face appeared distorted, with his features looking askew and his mouth crooked. Even the background wall behind him showed obvious distortion in its lines. He couldn’t help but openly mock the situation on Weibo, sparking a discussion among netizens.
In the video, Hu Ge was seen wearing a black jacket paired with a white T-shirt, looking quite fresh, but his facial features seemed warped, with his mouth also skewed. Not only were all his features distorted, but the lines on the background wall behind him were severely twisted, leading netizens to conclude that it was clearly due to an excessive use of a slimming and beautifying filter.
When Hu Ge reshared the video on Weibo, he sarcastically remarked, “What filter is this? Even the background is distorted!” Tencent Video’s official account replied, “Our love for bro Hu Ge has led to a transformation!” Hu Ge then humorously added, “I’ve transformed into being so happy.” and jokingly posed a question and made fun of himself, “Then the question is, why not transforming?”
Netizens jokingly remarked that Hu Ge had “turned into an alien,” “good-looking people become very strange with filters,” and “perhaps you were more handsome before.” Some were entertained by Hu Ge’s humor and self-deprecation, finding his response both genuine and adorable.
Hu Ge, known for his role as “Bao Zong” in the TV series “The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion,” has once again reached a peak in his career and recently made a surprise visit to Taiwan after 6 years, attending a youth dialogue forum held on June 12 at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei. Concurrently, a “preparatory group” composed of officials from the Shanghai Taiwan Affairs Office including Director Zhong Xiaomin also arrived in Taiwan, intertwining cross-strait film and television exchanges with political undertones, sparking doubts among Taiwan residents about “cultural warfare.”
Given the current tense situation across the strait, internal sources from the organizers of the “Dialogue with Youth” forum, as obtained by Voice of America, mentioned that Hu Ge’s visit to Taiwan this time was low-profile, with a “directive” not to meet with Taiwanese people, aiming to “avoid unnecessary trouble.” Some figures in Taiwan’s political circles have pointed out that Chinese actors visiting Taiwan often carry political missions, and Taiwanese people are well aware of the dual strategy employed by the Chinese Communist Party in cross-strait relations.