The Taipei Universiade Organizing Committee might replace local hip-hop trio Jiu Yi Yi (玖壹壹) as the spokespersons for the sporting event, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday, after the group sparked backlashes at home and overseas over a music video that has been criticized as offensive toward several religions.
Ko made the remark in response to media queries over whether the city government would dismiss the group, who agreed to be the face of the Taipei 2017 Summer Universiade for free.
Ko initially said the committee had not made any plans to replace Jiu Yi Yi, adding: “If something went wrong, just correct it.”
Photo provided by Ainoko Production Inc
When asked how the city would cope with the negative feedback the group has triggered in Malaysia, Ko said the committee would consider replacing the group.
“We will have more discussions about this matter. I do not think knee-jerk reactions are necessary,” he added.
In a recently released music video for a song titled Oh My God, the three Jiu Yi Yi members are seen dressed up as the Prophet Mohammed, Buddhist monk Xuanzang (玄奘) and a Taoist monk.
Malaysian rapper Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee (黃明志), and who is a collaborator of the group, wrote the song and portrayed Jesus Christ in the video.
In the video, “Mohammed” swaggers about several locations in Malaysia, including a mosque, carrying a rifle.
The four dressed as religious figures later indulge themselves with alcohol and a game of poker, during which they have an argument, prompting “Mohammed” to point his rifle at the others.
The video triggered an outpouring of online criticism almost immediately after its release, with many netizens calling the group “ignorant.”
Citing the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris last year, Christopher Hall said in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel Dream Lucid that the video could irritate religious extremists and make Taiwan a target of terrorist attacks.
The video has also drawn fire from Malaysian authorities.
Malaysian police on Sunday last week remanded Namewee into custody for questioning over his “intent to insult a religion.”
Jiu Yi Yi, which in Chinese means “911,” posted a video on Facebook in response to the controversy, saying they were approached by Wee to collaborate on the song, adding that the creative direction of the video and song’s lyrics were Wee’s alone.
The song’s message is about four religions living together in peace, the group said.
However, the group did not apologize for stirring up controversy, as many people had demanded, saying that netizens who criticized them had no knowledge of what had occurred and that the negative feedback only made them more determined to continue writing new songs.
The group has created a song for the Universiade, which they performed in front of Taipei City Hall last week to promote the event.
Jiu Yi Yi was nominated for best singing group at this year’s Golden Melody Awards.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
RSS