Taiwan-based Australian singer Kimberley Chen (陳芳語) performed part of a song banned in China at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit this week, and said her freedom as an artist was more important than having access to the Chinese market.
Chen performed part of the song Fragile (玻璃心), which pokes fun at nationalistic Chinese social media users, on a small platform in a space outside the venue’s main auditorium at the end of the summit’s first day on Thursday.
She also debuted a new English song, Who Says, a tune Chen said is meant to encourage people who feel persecuted.
Photo courtesy of the office of New Power Party Legislator Claire Wang
“I really hope people who feel suppressed and shut down are able to know that in the free world, we are constantly fighting for them and fighting for their rights,” Chen said.
Fragile, released on the Internet last year by Chen and Malaysian rapper Namewee (黃明志), is a Mandarin ballad that offers a tongue-in-cheek apology to “little pink,” a disparaging term that describes patriotic Chinese “keyboard warriors.”
The song to date has received more than 51 million views on YouTube and has helped Chen, who moved from Melbourne to Taipei in 2009 to pursue a music career and found fame in the global Mandarin music scene.
“I really hope that my music is able to encourage and inspire people to be themselves and not to be afraid of expression,” Chen said after performing the ballad at the summit.
Within days of the song’s release last year, Chen’s profiles on Chinese social media platforms were suspended, and her back catalog was wiped from China’s Internet.
Many people warned her of the loss of potential earnings from being banned in the Chinese market, but she believes that she has benefited in other ways, she said.
“I actually feel like I’ve gained so much. Not only am I able to stand up for what I believe in, I’m also able to do what I believe is right, and I feel like as a singer and as a songwriter, freedom and songwriting is so important for an artist,” Chen said.
The summit, held on Thursday and Friday, focused on uniting democratic forces to push back against an authoritarian tide, its Web site said.
The Copenhagen Democracy Summit began five years ago, with now-US President Joe Biden as its keynote speaker.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS