Pop music diva Chang Hui-mei (張惠妹), also known as A-mei, returned home early yesterday after performing in a controversial concert in Beijing on Saturday night. The singer was following through on her earlier vow to hold the Beijing concert despite threats of disruption by Chinese ultra-nationalists.
Throngs of protesters heckled the Puyuma Aboriginal singer, holding red banners protesting "pro-independence Taiwanese businesspeople." Her Chinese fans rushed to her defense, however, leading to scuffles between the two groups, which were quickly broken up by Chinese police.
PHOTO: AP
According to media reports, A-mei's fans begged her not to be disturbed by the raucous protesters, who were also demanding that A-mei sing March of the Volunteers, the Chinese national anthem.
The singer reportedly broke down and wept onstage, even as her Chinese supporters cheered her on and called out to her not to cry. A-mei told the estimated 10,000-strong audience that she had never felt such great pressure at a concert before.
Still, the 31-year-old singer from Taitung County carried on and finished her set.
A-mei became the focus of international controversy on June 12 when she was forced to cancel a concert in Hangzhou after students from Zhejiang University branded her a "supporter of Taiwanese independence." Several hundred students invaded a press conference at which the pop star had been scheduled to appear, chanting slogans and holding banners decrying the "green performer." Fearing for A-mei's safety, the organizers canceled her appearance.
However, the Mainland Affairs Council later described the students as "Beijing's dupes," who were probably acting with official encouragement.
The lambasting of Taiwanese performers for their supposed political preferences is a common occurrence in China. Internet discussion boards and forums often carry virulently aggressive messages attacking Taiwanese "splittists," China's propaganda term of choice for pro-independence or anti-unification figures.
After the re-election of President Chen Shui-bian (
A-mei initially gained the attention of Chinese authorities after singing the national anthem at Chen's inauguration in 2000.
At that time, the singer was blacklisted, lost a sponsorship deal with the Coca-Cola company and was subjected to a media blackout in China.
Yesterday, in a bizarre turn of events, some pro-independence groups called for a boycott of A-mei in response to comments she made upon her return, which were apparently meant to mollify her Chinese critics.
"I'm a Chinese person, and I sing Chinese people's songs," the singer told reporters at CKS International Airport.
"Shame on you A-mei. You are an embarassment to Aborigines and all Taiwanese people," one contributor wrote on a forum discussing A-mei at www.southnews.com.tw.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book