A pro-unification pop song aired on Chinese television earlier this month would only further sour Taiwanese sentiment toward China, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Wednesday.
The music video for We Sing the Same Song (我們同唱一首歌), which aired on China Central Television, features Chinese artists performing alongside Taiwanese singers Jam Hsiao (蕭敬騰), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Chen Li-nong (陳立農).
The lyrics were reportedly written by Taiwanese lyricist Vincent Fang (方文山), known for his collaborations with Jay Chou (周杰倫), to music composed by a Chinese musician.
Photo: Screen shot from the MAC’s online broadcast
Sung in Chinese and Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), the song is about three Taiwanese siblings who go to China after their grandfather’s death to reunite with their family in China’s Fujian Province.
The sentimental music video features images of the singers intercut with a family sharing a meal, and an interlude showing Matsu (媽祖) statues on China’s Meizhou Island (湄洲島) and Yunlin County’s Beigang (北港) “gazing at each other across the Strait.”
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said that the song was a coproduction between Cross-Strait Radio and the Taiwan Strait Watch media platform, both of which are part of the state broadcasting conglomerate China Media Group.
Artists on both sides of the Taiwan Strait “put their heart and soul” into creating this “Lunar New Year gift,” office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮) said on Wednesday.
The song fully demonstrates the homesickness felt by “Taiwanese compatriots,” she said, adding that the two sides “have always been one family.”
Responding to immense backlash to the song in Taiwan, Zhu said that “any lies, malicious incitement or provocations pale in comparison to feelings of affection and unity across the Strait.”
In Taipei, the MAC reiterated that the Republic of China is a sovereign nation that has never been part of the People’s Republic of China.
The Chinese Communist Party has long used shared history and culture to impose its idea of “one China,” turning purely artistic endeavors into propaganda tools, it said.
Pro-unification songs such as this would not only fail to win the approval of Taiwanese, but would actually increase antipathy toward China, it added.
Saying that Taiwanese society respects and upholds artistic freedom, the council urged Taiwanese to cherish their hard-won democracy and reject Chinese propaganda.
MAC spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) yesterday called on Chinese propagandists to reconsider their strategy.
Rather than telling artists to produce “politically correct” propaganda, it should stop clamping down on artistic thought, respect freedom of expression and allow people to realize their creative potential, Chiu said.
Cross-strait exchanges should be approached rationally and pragmatically to reflect people’s voices and encourage positive development, he added.
Asked whether it was appropriate for Taiwanese artists to participate in the production, Chiu said that he “trusts that Taiwanese society has made its own evaluation.”
He added that there are regulations that must be followed when collaborating across the Strait, and those living or doing business in China must still abide by Taiwanese law.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every
RSS