For the first time in the band’s history, Taiwanese metal band Chthonic has received a nomination for a Chinese music award, but it was unclear whether the Chinese government will allow the band to attend the award ceremony in Guangzhou.
The host of the Chinese Music Awards — to be held in Guangzhou, China — announced the list of nominees on Monday.
Joining Taiwanese artists who are familiar faces at Mandarin pop music awards — such as Show Lo (羅志祥), Cheer Chen (陳綺貞), Harlem Yu (瘐澄慶), Lin Sheng-xiang (林生祥), Chang Chen-yue (張震嶽) and Sandee Chan (陳珊妮) — Chthonic, to the surprise of many, also received nominations for Best Rock Album, Best Band and Best Album Cover for last year’s hit Bu-tik.
Chthonic’s three nominations came as a surprise because the band has long been active in supporting independence for Taiwan, the protests in Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as the human rights movement in China and elsewhere.
“I was quite surprised when I heard the news, but having given it more thought I believe that the power of music goes beyond political barriers, since we’ve often received messages of support for our work from our fans in China,” Freddy Lim (林昶佐), lead vocalist of the band, told the Taipei Times.
Asked if he is worried that the Chinese government would not allow the band to attend the award ceremony in Guangzhou, Lim said it is not really the band’s business to be worried about the issue.
“I think it’s the organizer of the event that would be more worried if a recipient of an award is not allowed to appear at the ceremony,” Lim said.
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