Wang Ben-hu (汪笨湖), host of the hugely successful Taiwan Voice (台灣心聲) call-in show, always attracts a large crowd when he shoots the show outdoors.
In Kaohsiung on Sunday, things got a bit out of hand when an agitated spectator lobbed an egg at one of Wang's guests, People First Party Legislator Chen Cheng-sheng (
Episodes such as this, however, will likely make Taiwan Voice, one of three television shows Wang hosts, even more popular.
Taiwan Voice airs every weekday night, and callers address Wang directly by his first name, in Taiwanese.
"Before Taiwan Voice, there were no call-in shows which were conducted in Taiwanese, and the focus of other shows were all placed in Taipei while the voice of the rest of Taiwan had been ignored completely," Wang said.
Southern Taiwanese make up about 55 percent of the viewers of Taiwan Voice, according to ratings released in the Chinese-language media, with roughly 23 percent coming each from central and northern areas.
In addition to Taiwan Voice, which touches upon Taiwanese history, Wang also hosts President Call-in, which covers topics related to the upcoming presidential election, and Taiwan call-in, which covers the news topics of the day.
Wang attributes the success of his shows to the purpose of the shows -- to express the real voice of Taiwan. He said that when television became the mainstream media, most current-affairs call-in shows were based on the misconception that the voice of Taipei residents represented the voice of all Taiwan's people.
"I think my shows give the audience a sense of belonging and participation and that's why it has become popular," Wang said.
Wang is praised for being a master in getting the audience to participate.
"I think there are two keys to Wang's shows," said Chinese dissident writer Cao Chang-ching (
"The first is his moral courage to really touch upon the issues of Taiwanese self-awareness; the second is that Wang himself is a witty and sharp person, and has a very unique hosting style," Cao said.
Cao said that after appearing on Wang's show a couple of times, strangers now recognize him when he's walking down the street.
"People will approach me and say that they know who I am through Wang's show, which is such a surprise," Cao said.
Despite Wang's encouragement to his audience for a lively debate, he frowns upon them attacking his guests with eggs.
"I think Taiwanese people's sense of what democracy is needs to be improved," he said.
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