The muting of the line “I’m from Taiwan” (我台灣來欸), sung in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), during a performance at the closing ceremony of the World Masters Games in New Taipei City on May 31 has sparked a public outcry. The lyric from the well-known song All Eyes on Me (世界都看見) — originally written and performed by Taiwanese hip-hop group Nine One One (玖壹壹) — was muted twice, while the subtitles on the screen showed an alternate line, “we come here together” (阮作伙來欸), which was not sung. The song, performed at the ceremony by a cheerleading group, was the theme song of Taiwan’s national team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Bureau said the song was “rearranged” to emphasize that the athletes came from different countries, and that it did not deliberately mute the “Taiwan” lyric. When a city councilor asked who ordered the change, a bureau official said that “no one made the decision; it was just a way of expression.” Many Taiwanese are displeased with the bureau’s explanation, calling it a “shameful” act of self-censorship that is disrespectful to the song’s creator and belittles Taiwan. City councilors also questioned if the bureau was allowed to change the lyrics, provoking a debate over copyright.
Adding fuel to the fire, when asked by a city councilor about the change, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) asked why the Democratic Progressive Party-led Executive Yuan failed to open a pavilion using the name “Taiwan” at Expo 2025 in Osaka. Taiwan is not permitted to exhibit using the name “Taiwan,” as it is not a member of the governing body for World Expos, but it still presented a pavilion as a private entity called “Tech World” — with the first two letters evoking the acronym “TW” for Taiwan.
The lyric incident follows a May 22 report by online news site The Reporter (報導者) about the political censorship, intimidation and threats that Taiwanese musicians face when performing in China. A vocalist of a rock band who spoke anonymously said that the group became so used to Chinese officials’ demands that they not display tattoos, wear certain clothing, sing certain songs or make statements at performances, that they avoided “sensitive” topics before being asked, going so far as to self-censor themselves on social media.
The vocalist recalled feeling helpless when an audience member was taken away by security for holding a rainbow towel at one of their performances in China. They also said they deleted Facebook posts supporting social movements, and were afraid to celebrate online when Taiwan’s national team won the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12. The performer told The Reporter that they were ashamed and resented that they changed themselves into what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wanted.
The muting of the line “I’m from Taiwan” has struck a nerve, as many Taiwanese have endured decades of China’s suppression of Taiwan on the international stage. Many Taiwanese wish to be seen and recognized by the international community, as highlighted by the lyric “I’m from Taiwan, and the world sees.”
China tightly controls what its citizens do and say through self-censorship, a practice it has taken international — using pressure, threats, inducement and coercion to make governments and companies silence themselves out of fear of harming interests or facing repercussions for upsetting the CCP.
If local governments take pride in hosting international events and choose a song that many Taiwanese identify with because it proudly represents Taiwan, then removing the very lyrics that promote Taiwanese identity is wrong. It sends the signal that China’s authoritarian regime has successfully expanded its self-censorship reach into democratic Taiwan.
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