A video clip that seemingly shows a cheerleader reacting in disgust moments after smilingly posing for pictures with a male fan sparked debate among netizens yesterday.
The cheerleader, nicknamed “Hsiao Wen” (小文), became the topic of heated conversation after the clip went viral and was featured on TV news shows.
Hsiao Wen is a member of the dance squad known as the Uni-Girls that cheer for the Uni-President Lions.
In the clip captured by a TV camera, Hsiao Wen is approached by a chubby guy with glasses and a baseball cap who asks to have his photo taken with her during a recent game between the Lions and the EDA Rhinos in Tainan.
While posing for the pictures, Hsiao Wen appears friendly, smiling and obliging the fan by making a happy “Ya” hand gesture for his smartphone camera.
Afterward, the guy is seen walking away and as soon as he is out of sight, Hsiao Wen’s smiling expression changes abruptly into one of scorn, and she is seen rolling her eyes as she talks to another cheerleader sitting next to her.
The cameraman continues to focus on her reactions, which appear to involve her saying some swear words and that many people have interpreted as her ridiculing the fan.
Within days of its being caught on video, the incident was a hot item on the news and among online communities, with some commentators raging about the cheerleader’s “appalling” behavior and others rallying to her defense.
On major news Web sites, it was one of the most discussed stories and drew thousands of comments.
The intense reaction to the clip has touched on several social issues, with some accusing Hsiao Wen of discriminating against overweight people, while others denounced her for judging the fan based solely on his appearance. Still others were offended by her “childish behavior” and unprofessional conduct.
Likely adding fuel to the fire was the title that the JTV network gave to the video: “When taking pictures with cheerleaders, first make sure that you are a handsome guy.”
Other observers pointed out the privacy issues related to the incident, with one writing that TV networks have no right to record individuals without their permission, saying that filming Hsiao Wen without her knowledge constituted a violation of her right to privacy.
Others commented that Hsiao Wen’s reaction was a natural and instinctive reaction, adding that she is free to express her opinion while speaking privately to a friend and that those criticizing her should stop being so self-righteous.
The fan was also a topic of conversation, with some saying “he was the real victim” and “must have been badly hurt after a video of him being publicly ridiculed was broadcast to the entire nation.”
Hsiao Wen yesterday issued a public apology for her behavior, although she initially denied that she had been insulting or otherwise deriding the fan, but had actually been complaining to her friend about being tired from traveling and long working hours.
Some baseball fans said that they found the incident upsetting and questioned if all female cheerleaders are so judgemental about their male fans and overweight people in general, with others threatening that if the Uni-Girls do not apologize, they would boycott all future Lions games.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods