Now, Taiwanese Harry Potter fans are disavowing their love for the creator of their favorite fantasy series. “J.K. Rowling is suspecting Taiwan’s Olympian for competing as a transgender, I shall boycott all Harry Potter merchandise and movies,” one fan on a Harry Potter fan site in a post that was met with many comments voicing similar disappointment in Rowling’s remarks.
“This is so shocking and disappointing to me, and I believe to everyone else in Fairyland,” reads one comment, referencing the name of the fan site. “Rowling is no longer my favorite author,” said more than one commenter. “Even though I love Harry Potter, I no longer like Rowling.”
Taiwanese social media users are also pulling no punches in defense of Lin.
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“Even J.K. Rowling is joining in on the heckling, claiming that she’s speaking for women but is in fact maligning an innocent person,” a Taipei-based user , urging greater support for Lin, who is “completely female and has a sad story.” (Lin when she was in middle school that she took up boxing at age 13 to try to protect her mother from domestic abuse.)
“It’s horrific that J.K. Rowling, who’s wielding her reputation and always uses crazy tactics, totally doesn’t care that she might be wrong, and is desperately smearing our athlete,” reads another popular by a doctor aimed at dispelling doubts about Lin’s gender.
So, just a little Taiwan news I got from my fam.
Everyone in Taiwan hates JK Rowling now.
— Yuh-Line Niou (@yuhline)
Politicians, many from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, have come out swinging, too.
“Let’s not even talk about the fact that J.K. Rowling’s opinions and stance on transgender issues in recent years have been very controversial. I’ll say just one thing: identity card number,” Keelung City Councillor Jiho Tiun , referring to Taiwanese citizens’ national identification numbers that begin with 1 for males and 2 for females and are .
“If she was biologically male and went to change her gender to get better results in competition, then her identity card would have begun with 1 instead of 2. Because no baby at birth would have schemed this way just to take part in the Olympics 28 years later,” Tiun continued. “This may make sense for a novelist specializing in writing about magic and wizardry. But in Taiwan, registering your identity and gender after birth is something that can’t be simpler.”
New Taipei City Councilor Cho Kuan-ting similarly emphasized that Lin was born female and urged the public to show their solidarity with her. “Everyone please support our national Olympic athlete Lin Yu Ting,” he wrote in a . “The worst is the fact that writer J.K. Rowling, a key opinion leader, is publicly questioning the Taiwanese athlete’s gender.”
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s spokesperson said Thursday in a that Lin “has shown incredible strength, overcoming doubts to compete fairly on the world stage. Your determination inspires the nation!”
Meanwhile, former President Tsai Ing-wen, voiced her support for Lin on Friday. “Lin Yu Ting is going to play tonight, seeking to advance, fighting for victory for herself, and fighting for honor for Taiwan” she wrote in a . “Faced with disturbances and her opponent’s challenge outside of the ring, I believe Lin is not afraid.”
When I met boxer Lin Yu-ting 林郁婷, I saw an athlete who is fearless in the face of challenges, whether they come from inside or outside the ring.
Today, when she represents on the Olympic stage, we will be behind her & all the Taiwanese Olympians making us proud.— 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen)
Lawmaker Su Chiao-hui, who has known Lin since 2017, also wished Lin good luck for her scheduled bout with Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova on Friday, describing Lin as “the pride of Taiwanese boxing.”
“The Yu Ting I know is a gentle and strong athlete. I believe that the disturbances off the court will not affect her!” Su .
“On Yu Ting’s competition eligibility being questioned by a British boxer and British writer, of course I can understand that athletes have their opinions about their interests,” director-general of Taiwan’s sports administration Cheng Shih-Chung , in apparent reference to Rowling and other critics that have included some current and former boxers around the world. “But after all, they don’t know the whole story,” he said, adding that criticisms of Lin may be a psychological tactic to throw off the Taiwanese boxer.
Lin, for her part, is rolling with the punches, that her emotions have not been affected by the controversy. “I can definitely interpret these challenges as opponents being so afraid of our ability, that they’re making an issue out of some problems,” she said. “The more they fear me, the better I’ll perform in the boxing ring.”
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