Mike He apologises after netizens flame him for implying he would abort pregnancy if it's another daughter

Taiwanese actor Mike He recently landed himself in some hot water after his past remarks seemed to imply that he would ask his wife to get an abortion if their third child turned out to be another girl.

The 37-year-old married Chen Yiwen in 2017 and the couple have two daughters.

Back in 2020, Mike did an interview where he revealed that he planned to have a third child within the next two years so that the age gap between his children won't be too wide.

According to reports, he said then: "I'll confirm it's a son before [my wife gives] birth."

He also pointed out that parents can find out the gender of the foetus at around seven to eight weeks and added: "If the test reveals it's a girl, I may not want the birth."

The interview clip went viral on Weibo recently and netizens took it to mean that he would abort the baby if it wasn't a boy. They slammed the actor for being inconsiderate towards his wife and a woman's body, and also his old-fashioned perspectives.

In response, Mike took to Weibo on Sept 26 to clarify his remarks. He expressed his gratitude to his wife for bearing him two daughters and said his remarks about his third child were just hypothetical.

He also said that he and his wife want both boys and girls, and if they can have a boy, that would be the best scenario. But, he also said that boys and girls are equal and apologised to netizens for his inappropriate remarks.

bryanlim@asiaone.com