Chou Tzuyu and other shenanigans

Almost a week ago now a scandal involving 16-year old Chou Tzuyu, member of K-pop group TWICE, started off. Now that the dust has settled, it's an appropriate time to take a look at what has gone on and what the consequences might be.

First off, let's start with looking at what actually happened. The incident was sparked by Tzuyu waving a Taiwanese flag on video. This apparently angered Chinese nationals, who threatened to boycott the Chinese touring activities that were planned for TWICE. The instigators of this movement saw the Taiwanese flag as a provocation and display of Taiwanese pro-independence thought. Who exactly was behind this boycott movement is not entirely clear, but what is clear is that it caused TWICE's talent agency to force Tzuyu to read an apology letter on video in order to not have touring activities for TWICE (and related acts) cancelled. In the video (which can be seen here), Tzuyu reads a letter saying she is sorry and that she believes that China and Taiwan are one:

Hello everyone. I have something to say to all of you. I am Tzuyu. I'm sorry, I should have apologized earlier. I didn't dare to face all of you earlier because I didn't know how to react to the current situation. There is only one China, Taiwan and China are part of the same country. I have always been proud of my identity as a Chinese. As a Chinese, during my activities in China, due to my words and actions, I have caused harm to my company and to netizens. I feel very sorry and ashamed. I have decided to suspend all my activities in China and reflect on my actions. Once again, I'm very very sorry.  
Translation by Anna Cheang, as reported at http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/266546/20160115/twice-tzuyu-taiwan-apology.htm

This video caused outrage among Taiwanese, with people claiming Tzuyu shouldn't have to apologise for being (or feeling) Taiwanese. This sparked feelings of disgust towards China and the Korean talent agency, and ironically, national pride among some Taiwanese. Also of note is that the video was released on 15 January, one day before the general elections. Of course, we now know that in those elections, the DPP was to gain a major victory. The role of the Tzuyu incident in this victory will likely not have been significant, but one can't help but notice the coincidence.

The picture that started it all: Tzuyu with the Korean and Taiwanese flag. 
 
The ultimate question, though, is why. Why was the simple waving of a Taiwanese flag extrapolated to being supportive to the pro-independence movement? And why was the talent agency and by extension, Tzuyu, pressured so hard to release the apology video? The low quality and seemingly forced way in which the letter was read made it easy for some to compare it to an IS hostage video. While these two are certainly different, I wonder what the benefit is of having a 16-year old kowtow to China. Maybe they want to crack down on anything and everything that comes close to Taiwanese pro-independence as they cling on to the hope that Taiwan can be annexed. Maybe it is to indirectly justify some domestic policy yet to come in light of the recent economic troubles that China has to endure. I am by no means an expert on China, so please feel free to comment if you have something to add or remark.

But if anything, this whole affair makes China look worse to the outside world. Regardless of what your political alignment is, it will be easy to agree with the statement that 16-year old pop idols should not be forcefully made into political tools. And interestingly, as this is not a completely isolated incident, it may even be part of a seemingly larger strategy. I don't think that is the case, but if it was, that would be very surprising indeed. Acts like bullying a minor as happened last week, telling Taiwanese people to stop hallucinating or internet users writing mass posts on Facebook promoting unification and criticizing the Taiwanese independence movement in my view will only do China harm. They only serve to harden and reinforce pro-independence thought within Taiwan and push it further and further away from China.

China will need to re-appraise its policy towards Taiwan if it wants to gain any credibility at all, both in the eyes of Taiwan and the rest of the world as well. If incorporating Taiwan into China is truly what they're after, then I cannot help but wonder what the hell they are doing right now. It's certainly not going to happen any time soon, and with acts like the ones we have seen recently, they're not going to get any closer to that goal. As a matter of fact, going after Tzuyu (as well as the other recent pro-unification activities) will only increase the distance between China and Taiwan. I wonder what's next. If this is a trend and it continues, it looks like it'll be more puzzling and futile anti-independence activities for now.