So there have been a number of Taiwanese celebrities who perform on both sides of the Taiwan Strait who've run into some politically sensitive situations lately. And one reason is the upcoming election. In the case of Kevin Tsai, who is a well-known TV presenter, he's had his Chinese Weibo social media account wiped and also lost a sponsorship for a Chinese electric vehicle company because he was pictured at an event for Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen, that China’s described as a Taiwan independence hardcore supporter. What do you make of that and what should society think about when it comes to entertainers and politics?
TAI YU-HUI, NAT’L YANG MING CHIAO TUNG UNIV.:
"In Taiwan, people might guess he is the blue [Kuomintang] side or the green [DPP] side. But in, Weibo in the CCP’s [Chinese Communist Party’s] language [qualitatively] that is evidence of standing on the Taiwan independence. So you can see that on Weibo. Then immediately, within one day his Weibo was cleaned and the brand cut off with him. That means his whole career for so many, many years was gone in China's market."
What then is your view of how things work on the Taiwanese side of the equation? Because while Taiwan doesn't censor or cancel celebrities for their political views, there can be backlash. For instance, there's the case of Nicky Wu, a Taiwanese entertainer who had an invitation…well, they said it was because of health reasons to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game canceled because he posed with a Chinese flag on their recent National day.
TAI YU-HUI, NAT’L YANG MING CHIAO TUNG UNIV.:
"I think the first reason, I think because of the market reaction the baseball team felt that he might cause commercial interference so canceled the deal. But also the way they say it is pretty conservative."
So China can sort of end someone's career over this sort of political statement or even appearance. And meanwhile, in Taiwan, the markets might do some of that same sort of thing. But, uh, it is a tight line to walk. And some people choose one side or the other in the past. A lot of Taiwanese celebrities based in China would post messages congratulating China on its national Day this year, though only 19 seem to have done so, which, according to reports, is fewer than usual. What do you read into that?
TAI YU-HUI, NAT’L YANG MING CHIAO TUNG UNIV.:
"One year is like 55 people. So you can see the decrease of the people. I think there are three major reasons. One is the Taiwanese people are more and more are getting aware of this kind of strategy. The CCP [Chinese Communist Party] adopts to force these celebrities to take political sides. The second reason is that the Taiwanese government is also clear cut [on its own red lines]. So the third reason is that, uh, nowadays these celebrities and, um or stars, they find more and more markets opportunities. They might go global just like Korean wave."
BACK: That was Professor Tai Yu-hui of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University on the cross-strait tightrope Taiwanese celebrities walk.
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