Tue, Mar 13, 2001 page1

• China sings a new tune to pop star

  CROSS-STRAIT CULTURE Beijing officials have reportedly invited pop diva A-mei to perform 10 concerts in China, apparently reversing an earlier ban against her

  • By Monique Chu / STAFF REPORTER
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  Beijing officials are singing a new tune and have apparently decided to lift a ban on Taiwan pop diva Chang Hui-mei (張惠妹), otherwise known as A-mei.

  Last week, media in China reported that officials had invited the pop singer to perform the theme song for a university sporting event scheduled to take place in Beijing next year. In addition, A-mei would be permitted to hold 10 concerts in China, reports said.

  A-mei had been banned in China since last year, after she sung the Republic of China's national anthem at President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) May 20 inauguration.

  Analysts say China's easing of the ban against the 28-year-old singer was likely an attempt to appear more tolerant to the International Olympic Committee. Beijing hopes to host the Games in 2008.

  "This move is to express goodwill to Taiwan, and it's part of the recent friendly gestures from Beijing," said Yang Chih-heng (楊志恆), political analyst at the Taiwan Research Institute.

  A-mei's personal assistant, Kao I-sha (高一秀), said the performer was delighted to hear of the news that she would be able to perform in China again. "It's her longstanding hope that she can sing wherever Chinese people are," Kao said.

  But Kao said A-mei had not yet received any formal notification of the ban's removal. "We received no formal document regarding the ban [last year], nor did we get anything about the lifting of the ban," Kao said.

  Though her popularity once transcended tensions across the Taiwan Strait, A-mei had the plugged pulled on her after Beijing officials interpreted her performance at Chen's inauguration as a pro-independence political statement.

  Television, newspaper and billboard advertisements for the soft drink Sprite featuring A-mei were pulled. One ad ran for at least a month on China Central Television before being pulled after A-mei's May 20 performance.

  Before the ban, A-mei was rather popular in China, where she held six successful concerts in the summer of 1999.

  The ban against A-mei was the first time Beijing had targeted an artist for political reasons, but the move deepened public revulsion in Taiwan toward Beijing authorities.

  The lifting of the ban, analysts say, is meant to carry a political message to the public in Taiwan.

  "Beijing used the temporary sanction to remind non-official actors in Taiwan that you can't step over Beijing's line ... when you are engaged in non-political activities," said Philip Yang (楊永明), associate professor at the department of political science at National Taiwan University.

  "The fact that A-mei sang the national anthem at a sensitive time was perceived by hard-liners in Beijing as a rather political activity" that suggested the singer supported independence for Taiwan, Yang said.

  But Yang said Chinese officials know that an indefinite sanction against the singer could only cause "permanent damage" to Beijing's image.

  The Taiwan Research Institute's Yang views Beijing's recent move as a part of China's overall strategy to appear more accommodating toward Taipei. "As the US administration under the presidency of George W. Bush has maintained a rather hawkish attitude toward China, China has taken a softer line on Taiwan and hopes that the new approach will undercut support in Washington for Taiwan," the researcher said.

  Philip Yang pointed to a statement by Chinese Vice Premier Qian Qichen (錢其琛) last Friday as an example.

  "Qian was quoted as saying that `we understand the aspiration of our Taiwanese compatriots to maintain the status quo,' and this is very soft language," Yang said.

  Meanwhile, market watchers said China's lifting of the ban could help A-mei's sagging CD sales.

  Publication Notes

  Stopping the music

  * May 20, 2000: Pop star A-mei sings the ROC national anthem at Chen Shui-bian's inauguration. * In the month following the performance, television, newspaper and billboard advertisements in China featuring A-mei are pulled. * March 2001: Media reports in China indicate that officials have invited A-mei to sing in Beijing and hold 10 concerts in the country. Source: Taipei Times
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