A Taiwanese editor who was tapped to head a men’s fashion magazine in China was replaced at the last minute, allegedly for wearing a ribbon at a farewell party that read “take back the mainland.”
The Mainland China Fashion Business Bulletin has reported that GQ China, the Chinese-language edition of the men’s magazine, on Friday promoted deputy managing editor Zeng Ming (曾鳴) to managing editor, effective immediately.
It said that Blues To (杜祖業), a Taiwanese national and editor-in-chief of GQ Taiwan, was originally given the managing editor position at GQ China, but the offer was withdrawn for “personal reasons.”
However, photographs circulating on the Internet showing To wearing a ribbon that read “take back the mainland” at a farewell party thrown by his colleagues at GQ Taiwan is believed to be the reason for the change of mind by GQ China.
“Take back the mainland” was one of the slogans coined by former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) as a show of determination to reconquer China following the defeat of the Nationalist forces in the Chinese Civil War.
The use of the slogan by someone who was about to start working in China showed a lack of political sensitivity, some people in the Chinese media have said.
GQ is owned by Conde Nast, a US mass media company. Its Chinese edition was launched in 2009 in partnership with China News Service.
Commenting on the incident, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) said that an international publication like GQ could be robbed of its sense of humor demonstrates the reach of Chinese social control beyond its borders.
“The junta in China is projecting its control on foreign societies, and private corporations have internalized it into a form of self-censorship,” he said. “Tu is a victim the Big Brother.”
Taiwanese politicians should reach across the ideological divide to protect people’s freedoms, instead of engaging in victim blaming, which rationalizes the behavior of the victimizer, he said.
New Power Party Legislator Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said China is a chronic violator of the freedom of speech and that state repression there has escalated over the past few years.
The slogan “take back the mainland” is a staple of Taiwanese humor and disqualifying a job candidate over the joke is absurd, Hsu said.
“The vindictiveness on full display here is totally at odds with China’s claim of being a great nation,” he said.
Beijing’s intention to revive the Qing Dynasty’s literary inquisition on a global scale and impose Chinese values on the rest of the world is tantamount to a “declaration of war” on nations that believe in free speech, Hsu added.
“Tu got in trouble because he lacked awareness of the political situtation around him. Before going [to China], people who want to have a job in China should pay attention to this and realize that they need to censor themselves,” a Taiwanese working in China said on condition of anonymity.
Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan
SEE EDITORIAL on PAGE 8
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS