TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Mainland Affairs Council on Saturday criticized Taiwanese entertainers for sharing a Chinese social media post calling for Taiwan's annexation by China.
On Mar. 7, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅) said at a press conference that the only designation for Taiwan in the UN is "Taiwan, Province of China," per China's state-run Xinhua. The topic became the top trending search term on Weibo, per UDN.
That same day, China's state-run CCTV created a graphic reading “Taiwan Must Return.” Several Taiwanese celebrities shared the graphic on Weibo, with some affirming adherence to Beijing's “one-China” principle.
The "Taiwan Must Return" graphic, released by CCTV News, features the five stars Chinese national flag as the background with the word “China” and a small map of Taiwan imposed on top as a sixth star. The text reads: "Taiwan is China’s Taiwan. Resolving the Taiwan issue is a matter for the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people. Taiwan has never been a country and will never become a country."
In response, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council strongly condemned the “small number of Taiwanese entertainers who have echoed the Chinese Communist Party's call to eliminate the sovereignty of the Republic of China (Taiwan).” The MAC wrote, "A small number of Taiwanese entertainers, in pursuit of their career gains in China, have repeatedly echoed CCP authorities, undermining our national sovereignty and seriously hurting the feelings of the Taiwanese people."
The MAC noted the CCP has long used political ideology to control the arts, culture, and entertainment industry, strictly scrutinizing performers' public statements and actions. It criticized the actions of performers who have "willingly become pawns of the CCP’s united front efforts against Taiwan to destroy their own country."
The MAC said it would review whether these entertainers’ actions violate Article 33-1 of the Cross-Strait Act, which prohibits cooperation with the CCP’s political, military, and governmental entities.
News anchor Patty Hou (侯佩岑) was the first Taiwanese celebrity to share the post on Weibo, per PTS News. She was soon followed by Mark Chao (趙又廷), Michelle Chen (陳妍希), Edward Chen (陳昊森), Nana Ou-Yang (歐陽娜娜), Angela Chang (張韶涵), Aska Yang (楊宗緯), Ele Yan (顏人中), Julian Chen (陳志朋), Joe Chen (陳喬恩), Vicky Chen (文淇), Morning Chang (張晨光), Jeffrey Tung (董又霖), Yvonne Yung (翁虹), Darren Chen (官鴻), Jiro Wang (汪東城), Riley Wang (王以綸), and Tim Huang (黃曦彥), among others.
