Hong Kong will “seize every opportunity” to assist influencers, Chief Executive John Lee has said, after American streamer IShowSpeed reportedly snubbed the city’s tourism board.
“The tourism board actually approached Speed on various arrangements and indicated their willingness to provide assistance, but Speed did not approach the tourism board, so the government did not take any action,” Lee said in Cantonese on Tuesday morning, ahead of his weekly meeting with the Executive Council.
“But I must stress that the government will seize every opportunity for Speed or any other influencers if they come to Hong Kong,” he added. “I’m sure everyone would like to see Hong Kong being promoted… We want everyone to see the merits of Hong Kong.”
IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr, live-streamed his visit in Hong Kong for more than nine and a half hours on Friday, coinciding with Ching Ming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day.
The 20-year-old YouTube star announced that his subscribers had hit 38 million as around 140,000 to 150,000 viewers tuned in to his livestream on Friday and watched him interact with the city’s residents. As of Tuesday morning, the Hong Kong footage racked up more than 10 million views.
The Tourism Board told local media last week that it had been in touch with Watkins’ team and proposed assistance during his visit, but the streamer’s team did not respond.
Watkins arrived in Hong Kong after visiting Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, and Chengdu. He went to Shenzhen on Saturday before returning to Hong Kong on Sunday night.
Streamer’s China tour
Much of the online discourse surrounding the streamer’s visit, particularly on Threads, focused on how Watkin’s itinerary could have been improved as local influencers Torres Pit – who is linked to Dim Sum Daily – and Bertram Lau faced criticism over their roles as tour guides, as well as their chemistry with the streamer.
Separately, lawmaker Dominic Lee compared Watkins’ Hong Kong trip with the YouTuber’s experience in Shenzhen, where he had food delivered by drone and test-drove models manufactured by Chinese EV giant BYD. “In Hong Kong, he only ate beef offal and participated in ‘villain hitting.’ How is this acceptable?”
In the video, Watkins also appeared visibly stressed when he was mobbed by young fans in Yau Ma Tei as he repeatedly told them to “chill out.”
“I don’t think today was a good time to start [streaming], because it was a holiday… these kids got no school,” Watkins said during the livestream, after he got into a car to avoid the massive crowd, calling the situation “overwhelming.”
Earlier in the day, Watkins live-streamed his encounter with pandas at Ocean Park, tried snake soup at Temple Street, and challenged locals at football and basketball.
Meanwhile, Watkins has been lauded by the Chinese embassy in the US, which said that his China tour “indicates a broader trend of digital influencers bridging cultural gaps and creating alternative channels for foreign audiences to understand a vibrant China.”
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