Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
語言:
English
Photo Credit: Charlie Qi/WikiCommons/CC BY-SA 4.0
THE ISSUE OF Taiwanese influencers receiving funding or direction from the Chinese government has received attention after a recent series of viral videos.
In a 40-minute video which has since attracted 2.4 million views, Pa Chiung, an anti-CCP YouTuber, interviews Chen Po-yuan. Chen Po-yuan, a Taiwanese rapper, is known for producing Chinese nationalist anthems that adulate the CCP. Notably, Chen was also educated in the US and credits his pro-CCP views to experiencing racism against Asians in the US.
In the video, Chen states that he has decided to turn his back on his former Chinese collaborators after an incident involving his being tricked out of money by the son of the head of an organization of “Taiwanese” in China. This organization of Taiwanese consists largely of individuals of Taiwanese descent living in China. Chen, who founded an entertainment company after his viral success with this man, states that his collaborator originally used his musical work to gain attention, then hired away personnel from the company while retaining the intellectual property rights to Chen’s music. As a result, Chen states that he has not received pay for his work.
The video, which is the first of a series, mostly shows Chen calling up individuals such as other Taiwanese influencers who live in China and produce CCP propaganda, or the editor of a state-run media outlet in Fujian, the Strait Herald, to ask for publicity or help arranging appearances.
The video by Pa Chiung
Using the sympathy from his peers from a story of claimed detention by the Taiwanese government, Chen then asks for help to make some money on the Chinese entertainment circuit. Chen claims that he will bring a group of ten Taiwanese influencers to China for a tour, showing the wonders of China, even if this may not directly touch on any political messaging about China, and asks for help arranging this. Subsequent videos in the series will show this tour.
The phenomenon of Taiwanese entertainers receiving pay from the Chinese government was already known. In June, influencer Potter King reported receiving messages from Chinese individuals seeking to recruit him and other entertainers to form a pro-China political party. Potter King also stated that a number of Taiwanese influencers were currently touring China in order to promote China, having received funds from the Chinese government.
Nevertheless, the Taiwanese public did not react so strongly to Potter King’s accusation as compared to Chen and Chiung’s video. Part of this is because of Chen, in fact, being a known pro-CCP influencer.
At the same time, the probable reason why Chen and Chiung’s video has struck a chord with the public is that it shows the systematic nature of Chinese United Front activity, in that there is a Chinese government bureaucratic operation that arranges for such activities. The video also shows that there is an economic network by which pro-China influencers are drawn into because this becomes their income source. In this sense, what has impressed upon the Taiwanese public is the scale of United Front activity toward Taiwan.
Since the video was released, a number of the influencers that appear in the video have been accused of receiving funding from the Chinese government, such as influencer Wang Wen-jui, known as “Taiwanese Grandpa”, or YouTuber Chung Ming-hsuan. Lawmaker Puma Shen of the DPP, originally an academic expert on Chinese United Front activity and disinformation, has called for the establishment of mechanisms to report Chinese United Front activity. Likewise, civil defense organization Kuma Academy, stated that donation QR codes make it difficult to track online cash flows to Taiwanese influencers who produce pro-CCP propaganda and operate in the Chinese market in this way.
It is to be seen what moves to regulate the actions of such influencers occur. if any. The release of the video takes place at a time in which the KMT calls for loosening regulations that specify fines against Taiwanese military personnel who vow loyalty to the PRC, something that the KMT claims is in order to protect freedoms of speech in Taiwan.