Accusations that the Taiwanese member of the South Korean pop group TWICE, Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), was a “pro-Taiwanese independence” activist has caused China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) to demand LG Uplus drop Chou from endorsing its Y6 chain of cellphones.
According to reports by South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo yesterday, Huawei customer service personnel Chang Xiaoyun (張曉雲) posted on a Chinese microblogging service on Tuesday night that Huawei is demanding that LG Uplus drop all cooperation with Chou.
Chou endorsed the Y6 series of Huawei’s telephones, which has seen more than 20,000 sales in South Korea since its arrival last month, the online report said.
Photo: screen grab from the Internet
According to another report from South Korea’s CBS No Cut News, the sudden and unilateral decision by Huawei to stop cooperating with Chou was because Taiwanese singer Huang An (黃安) said Chou is a “pro-Taiwanese independence” activist.
Huang, despite being Taiwanese by birth, began developing his career in China in the late 1990s. Huang has made a name for himself in recent years by informing the Chinese government and netizens about what he regards as pro-Taiwanese independence individuals and their activities.
Chou is not the first Taiwanese celebrity to have been subjected to Huang’s tip-offs.
Photo: screen grab from the Internet
Chou was recently seen holding the Republic of China (ROC) and South Korean flags during a My Little Show taping on South Korean TV channel MBC.
Chou’s management agency, JYP Entertainment Corp, has canceled all of Chou’s shows in China and said her activities in China have been halted until the allegations have been clarified, the report said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) both responded in support of Chou yesterday.
Photo: Screengrab from the Internet
KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said that the KMT supported and affirmed Chou’s choice to develop her career abroad.
PFP presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) praised Chou for the act of holding the flag, stating that to be Taiwanese is to support the continued existence of the ROC.
Meanwhile, Huang has returned to Taiwan ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday and is said to be fearing for his safety. Huang has reportedly written to former Bamboo Union (竹聯幫) gang leader Chang An-le (張安樂), known as “the White Wolf,” asking for protection.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
Chang yesterday released online messages between himself and some friends, in which his friends said that Huang asked for protection due to Taiwanese singer Lai Ming-wei’s (賴銘偉) younger brother having “alleged connections” to the Bamboo Union.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2