Asia-Pacific

From Bini to F4: Pop Music Brings Taiwanese and Filipinos Together

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By Ryan Wu/David Santos/Sandy Chi

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Bini, dubbed "the national girl group" of the Philippines, is set to wrap up its current world tour with a performance in Taiwan next month. But the cultural connection through pop music goes both ways. Taiwanese boy band F4, which sparked the Philippines' love for Taiwanese TV dramas and Mandopop in the early 2000s, rode a wave of nostalgia in their reunion concert in Manila last June. One Philippine diplomat says this is proof of how music and arts can offer people in Taiwan and the Philippines a way to discover what they have in common.

They are the Philippines’ rising P-pop or Pinoy-pop sensation, taking Filipino music to the global stage.

All-girl band Bini is known for their bubblegum pop sound, seamless choreography and messages of female empowerment.

From sold-out shows at home to reaching new audiences abroad, Bini’s debut at Coachella this year marked a major milestone for the group and their fans who call themselves "Blooms."

AIAH, BINI MEMBER (Manila) “It's definitely meaningful, and it holds so much value for us, whenever we are outside the Philippines, and we have tours, and have events that we're able to perform, for our Blooms and especially our overseas Filipino workers.”

STACEY, BINI MEMBER (Manila) “We are grateful for everything we've achieved as a group. Pero we know naman na there's still so much to learn and explore”

And they’re bringing their music to Taiwan as part of their current world tour.

MALOI, BINI MEMBER (Manila) “We're so excited to go back, not for leisure but to perform for our Taiwanese blooms.”

STACEY, BINI MEMBER (Manila) “Pero we are also bringing our family with us in Taiwan. So we're excited to explore the beauty of Taiwan. Ximending, the food, the culture, the nature”

P-pop fans in Taiwan have been waiting for this moment.

ROSE ANN BELGAR, BINI FAN (Taoyuan, Taiwan) “Hi BINI, Welcome to Taiwan!”

Nearly 200,000 Filipinos live in Taiwan, the majority of them migrant workers. And for many of them, music offers a moment of joy and relief from homesickness.

DYAN FEBRE, BINI FAN (Taichung, Taiwan) “Being away from home, being away from family, and listening to BINI makes me happy, makes me inspired”

But the cultural connection between Manila and Taipei also goes both ways. Taiwanese boy band F4, who shot to fame in the early 2000s and built a huge following across Asia continues to have a dedicated fan base in the Philippines.

KIM GARCIA, F4 FAN (Taipei) “Hindi kumpleto ang high school life ng mga 80s, 90s ng wala ang F4.” [Translation: For kids born in the 80s and 90s, high school life would not have been complete without F4.]

This concert in Manila last June drew fans eager to relive the music of F4, highlighting the enduring appeal of Taiwanese pop in the Philippines, proof that arts and music can help strengthen ties beyond official relations.

CORAZON AVECILLA-PADIERNOS, CHAIR, MANILA ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL OFFICE (Taipei) “That is very, very important because culture is people to people. So it doesn't have anything to do on one China policy. Ang mandate namin [Our mandate] is to put really the people of Taiwan and the people of the Philippines to be, to do exchanges. So cultural, is actually people to people kind of relationship.”

From Filipino pop reaching audiences in Taiwan to Taiwanese music winning fans from the Philippines, the exchange shows how popular culture can bring people closer through the universal language of music and song.

Ryan Wu, David Santos and Sandy Chi for TaiwanPlus.