Fans of Taiwanese pop singer Chang Hui-mei (
Chang was forced to cancel a performance in China on Saturday night due to a protest by students from Zhejiang University (
Chang was previously blacklisted by China for singing the national anthem at President Chen Shui-bian's (
Fans, angry with Chinese opposition to Chang, unleashed anti-China sentiment on chatrooms and discussion boards online yesterday, some calling for boycotts and other saying that A-mei should just forget about China and focus on singing in Taiwan.
Other fans, however, argued back that Saturday's situation had nothing to do with Chinese entertainers and that they should be left alone.
On her return to Taiwan Sunday night, Chang was low-key about the cancelation, saying that she was saddened by the Chinese response and that she was just trying to fulfill her obligations as an entertainer.
Chang, who has other performances planned for China this summer, said on Sunday that she plans to keep to schedule.
Calls to Chang's record company yesterday were met with the terse reply that "everything has already been said."
Politicians from different parties also voiced their opinions yesterday.
The concert cancellation was an uncalled for political move, said People First Party lawmaker Sheu Yuan-kuo (許淵國). Chang's performance at Chen's 2000 inauguration was the highest honor that could be granted a musician, and has nothing to do with Taiwan's independence, he added.
Democratic Progressive Party caucus Director-General Tsai Huang-liang (
Also see story:
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
RSS