HONG KONG • Singer Hins Cheung is reported to have been kicked out of the Hunan TV reality show Singer and erased from the upcoming premiere episode, amid a furore over his alleged support of the Hong Kong independence movement.

The contest for professional singers was formerly known as I Am A Singer and has been renamed for its fifth season, which will feature Sandy Lam, Teresa Carpio and Jam Hsiao's band Lion.

Cheung had sung his song, Kissing Too Realistically, in the episode that was recorded last Tuesday and is scheduled to air on Saturday, said Apple Daily.

But Hunan TV is suspected to have cut him out of the show under the pressure of public opinion, the report said. Last Saturday, rumours went around that he had been withdrawn from the show and that he will be cut out of the premiere or pixelated in footage that cannot be deleted.

Hunan TV also removed information and posts about the China-born, Hong Kong-based Cheung from its official website and Weibo page, said Apple Daily.

In late 2015, Cheung was rumoured to have been left out of the line-up for I Am A Singer 4 because of accusations that he supported the Occupy Central movement.

Last Monday, he announced that he would join Singer and posted an essay on Weibo that declared: "I have never ever been for Hong Kong independence, I firmly oppose all acts of splitting the country."

But Chinese netizens still bombarded Hunan TV and Singer's Weibo pages with complaints about a pro-Occupy Central singer joining the show, said Apple Daily.