Street corners and corporate deals do not appeal to all of Taiwan's magicians, however. For magician P.J. Wen (
"Sure, I've done my fare share of corporate gigs for money, but I don't get much satisfaction from making a BMW appear and disappear. Illusions like this are not as personal as they are for someone else," Wen said. "To escape the drudgery of doing this I've taken to traveling abroad a lot and performing at international competitions."
Of all the places he's performed, however, Chen believes that it is China that holds the key to the future of magic in the east. Along with the government funding of magic classes and schools, one of China's TV stations has recently begun airing a localized Blaine-styled TV show on which local magicians roam the streets and astonish the populace in front of the camera.
"China has a TV show which showcases young magicians and films them as they do street magic. It's a pretty good show and the level of the tricks is quite high," he said. "It's watched by millions of people. I mean, what better way to promote magic could you get?"
With the exception of brief appearances on variety shows and the odd news feature, local magicians are pretty much ignored by the local media, which is something that magicians such as Wen consider rather shortsighted.
"David Blaine's shows are popular here and I think Taiwan could definitely learn from this way of promoting magic," Wen said. "I'm positive a program like this with local magicians would prove a hit, especially if one of them performs a truly spectacular illusion."
Taiwan's grandmaster of magic remains skeptical, however, about the feasibility of Copperfield-like illusions such as making the Taipei 101 disappear. In fact, Chia has only two words for anybody foolhardy enough to attempt it. "Impossible. Bullshit."
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