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.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS