He may be one of Hong Kong's most famous singers but Alan Tam is probably not one of its most popular celebrities these days.

Tam, 69, has drawn much criticism online in the past year or so for expressing support publicly for how the Hong Kong police and government have handled pro-democracy protests in the city.

To escape the online brickbats, he has closed his Instagram and Facebook accounts to focus on his account on Chinese microblogging website, Weibo, reports Oriental Daily News on Wednesday (July 29).

Tam, known as Principal Tam for his contributions to the Cantopop scene, is semi-retired after a career that spanned five decades.

In July last year, Tam, he was seen with fellow singer Kenny Bee at a rally held in support of Hong Kong police in July last year.

In response, many fans went on social media to condemn the singer, with some saying that they intend to boycott him while others smashed up Tam's music records.

In February this year, Tam was slammed once more when he was seen, along with several other well-known Hong Kong stars including Jackie Chan and Eric Tsang, at a banquet with Hong Kong police officers.

Also drawing ire from netizens was the group's blase attitude towards the coronavirus pandemic, with the banquet attendees condemned for not wearing masks.

Many fans took to social media then to express their displeasure with the singer.

Since then, hostility towards Tam on his Facebook and Instagram accounts have occurred from to time. He started the accounts two years and his Facebook account had more than 10,000 followers.

On the other hand, Tam's support of the Hong Kong authorities has gained support from Chinese netizens, who call him patriotic. His Weibo account has 4.7 million followers.