Christine Fan criticised after expressing frustration over strike

Over the Chinese New Year holidays, celebrity couple Christine Fan and Blackie Chen flew over to America with their twin sons, Ryan and River Chen, for a short holiday. However, due to the strike by the pilots of China Airlines, the family-of-four was unable to catch their scheduled flight back to Taiwan. Left stranded until further notice, Christine took to her Facebook account on February 9 (Saturday) to express her frustration.

“(Workers of) China Airlines who are on strike… please tell me that this is all just an April Fools’ joke,” she wrote. However, her post was met with much anger and criticism, particularly from those who were supporting the pilots who are on strike.

A day later, Christine’s husband, Blackie posted on his own Facebook page, speaking up for his wife. He explained that the reason why Christine had felt so anxious was due to the fact that she had a concert on February 14, and could therefore not afford to spend more time in America. Thus, she had to try her best to find a way to return to Taiwan alone. "Otherwise, we’d have a last-minute crisis on our hands,” he wrote.

​“We believe that no one is happy for something like this to happen over the Chinese New Year period. We hope for more patience and empathy, and understand the standpoint of the workers and fellow citizens who had toiled tirelessly over the holidays! We only wish for the matter to be resolved satisfactorily for all parties, and for everyone to be able to return home safely,” Blackie wrote.

He also shared that the family is taking their extra days in America as a blessing in disguise, and that he has arranged activities for their kids to experience in the meantime.

However, he did not share if Christine had indeed managed to change her flight and return to Taiwan earlier, only writing, “Mama, work hard for your concert! We’ll be good!”.