Sun, May 26, 2024 page1

• Politicians lament Taiwan stars’ pro-China statements

  • By Hsu Li-chuan, Chen Cheng-yu and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
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  Politicians across party lines yesterday expressed regret that many Taiwanese singers and entertainers have been forced to make pro-China statements.

  President William Lai (賴清德) on Monday said in his inaugural speech that Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to one another.

  “Taiwan is not a country and will never be a country. Taiwanese independence is the road toward destruction... China will eventually actualize a full unification,” China Central Television wrote on Sina Weibo on Wednesday.

  

  The Taiwanese band Mayday performs in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of B’in Music

  Taiwanese entertainers Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) shared the post on Sina Weibo and both said: “Taiwan will certainly be unified with the motherland.”

  As of Friday, more than 45 other Taiwanese, including singers Angela Chang (張韶涵), Rainie Yang (楊丞琳), Kenji Wu (吳克群) and actors Darren Wang (王大陸) and Jiro Wang (汪東城), had also shared the CCTV post.

  Taiwanese band Mayday’s (五月天) lead singer, Ashin (阿信), on Friday during a show in Beijing said: “We Chinese definitely have Peking duck when in Beijing.”

  

  Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai performs in Nanchang, China, on Friday.

  Photo: Screen grab from Sina Weibo

  At a concert in Nanchang, China, on Friday, Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) said: “Our Chinese [brethren] in Nanchang are the most passionate.”

  Taiwanese singer Cyndi Wang (王心凌), also on tour in China, shared a Sina Weibo post by China’s People’s Daily stating that “Taiwan independence is the road toward destruction,” and said “I am a part of the zhonghua minzu (中華民族, ethnic Chinese group).”

  Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) yesterday said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has run out of moves to make and can only hope to influence Taiwan through its entertainers.

  Wu said she believed that these artists and entertainers were politically coerced, adding: “Our greatest enemy is the CCP, not these artists and entertainers.”

  Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), also from the DPP, urged China to respect performers’ freedom of speech, not force them to “take a side.”

  Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Yan-hsiu (李彥秀) expressed regret and said the move was not helpful in encouraging goodwill across the Strait.

  It was evident that the entertainers were forced to make the statements as a result of Lai’s inaugural address, she said.

  KMT Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) urged China to restrain itself and called on both sides to relaunch cross-strait talks and “leave music to music.”

  The Taiwan People’s Party in a statement said it condemned all acts that constrain the development of music, arts and culture, urging Beijing to respect performers, and not to harm cross-strait relations by coercing the entertainers to make public political stance.

  Separately, Golden Horse Award-winning actor Mo Tzu-yi (莫子儀) on Facebook on Friday urged people “to together protect the nation and the people’s democracy.”

  Alluding to the recent controversy surrounding legislative reforms, he said discussions and following procedure are key to resolving political differences.

  “No one can be sure how long we can safeguard our hard-won democracy and freedom,” he said.

  Some of the people who commented said his post set him apart from other Taiwanese artists who made political statements in favor of China.

  Additional reporting by Chiu Yi-chin
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