Several Taiwanese entertainers such as Jam Hsiao (蕭敬騰), Angela Chang (張韶涵), Aska Yang (楊宗緯), Michelle Chen (陳妍希) and Lee Li-chun (李立群) took to the stage on China Central Television’s Lunar New Year Gala. Its online guest list showed them them as coming from “Taiwan, China,” a flagrant move portraying Taiwan as an inseparable part of China.
It is an open secret that the Lunar New Year Gala is far from a normal variety show, but one steeped in political propaganda. After Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) came to power, the program was rendered an instrument for political education. Those who appeared on the show should not feign innocence on its hidden implications.
Of course, an entertainer is free to milk the Chinese cash cow, but it is another matter when they become an instrument for creating rifts in Taiwan, undermining the public’s morale and facilitating the Chinese Communist Party’s “united front” efforts against Taiwan.
Therefore, there is no reason for Taiwanese to tolerate and excuse these celebrities. Any reasoning such as “beggars can’t be choosers” are groundless: I do not see other entertainers facing such dilemmas.
As China continues its aggression toward Taiwan, partly by its air force incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and engaging in relentless efforts to isolate Taiwan in the international community, Chang embraced the enemy by appearing on China’s National Day evening gala last year to say: “I feel the greatness of the nation in my bones.”
Was Chang actually praising China’s unjust bullying of Taiwan?
The actions of these entertainers are simply aiding and colluding with the enemy.
China has always claimed that “pro-independence entertainers” should be blacklisted for their “treachery” of “biting the Chinese hand that feeds them.” Under the same principle, Taiwanese should not allow these “pro-Beijing entertainers” to “bite the Taiwanese hand that feeds them.”
During his time in China, Hsiao has been busy showing his support of “one China” with remarks such as “Chinese have always been nourished by the Long River and Yellow River,” and singing We Sing the Same Song (我們同唱一首歌) at the gala — a propaganda song meant to demonstrate that Taiwan and China “have always been one family” — while acting as if nothing happened on his return to Taiwan.
It would be a great disservice to “pro-independence entertainers” — those who resist the alluring Chinese market to retain local values — if Hsiao is allowed to appear on talk shows, sell albums, tour in concerts, appear in commercials and sell his own brand of instant noodles in Taiwan.
If the government does not act, its acquiescence would be seen as a passive encouragement for more entertainers to follow in Hsiao’s footsteps.
Since the Taiwanese market seems trivial to these entertainers, Taiwan should not show these “traitors” any magnanimity, for they would not be grateful. Furthermore, it should not be left for the market to decide their fates, as these entertainers are no doubt exploiting the forgiving and benevolent nature of Taiwanese.
As Taiwan is a democratic country, there would be voices that object to restricting the entertainers’ freedom to perform. I am not against these celebrities performing commercially, but they should be banned from politically related events.
When former US president Donald Trump assumed office in 2017, he implemented measures to counter China’s “sharp power,” which was supported by many Western countries.
Just as China implements strict censorship of free speech at home, it is aggressive in its hostility to freedom in the US and Europe. Beijing is sugarcoating its authoritarianism and dictatorship while it gnaws at the roots of democracy around the world.
Similarly, we must not allow China to take advantage of Taiwan’s freedom through its exploitation of Taiwanese entertainers. Their “political” performances in China have given Beijing an opportunity to sow the seeds of discord in our society and undermine Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.
There are citizens who feel that Taiwan should not be perturbed by those pro-Beijing entertainers and that we should demonstrate magnanimity by refraining from censoring entertainers in the way that China does.
If China abolishes its censorship, then Taiwan can open its gates to Chinese entertainers, just as it did with entertainers from other democratic countries.
In fact, China has begun a witch hunt on Taiwanese entertainers and label them as “pro-independence” whenever they display a Taiwanese identity. For this reason alone, “pro-independence entertainers” deserve our support and appreciation more than ever.
As for treacherous “pro-Beijing entertainers,” the National Communications Commission should hand out penalties according to proportionality through transparent and public procedures. Otherwise, Taiwan would become a land where friends and enemies, good and bad, are all mixed up.
Fan Shih-ping is a professor at National Taiwan Normal University’s Department of East Asian Studies.
Translated by Rita Wang
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