Jay Chou's 'I Am Chinese — What Is There to Discuss?' Now Has Beijing's Official Backing
A week after the singer's nod at being called a 'Chinese singer' in Shanghai turned into a cross-strait comment fight, Taiwan's pro-independence camp is attacking him for his identity — and Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office has answered on his behalf.
When a host at October's Shanghai Masters tennis introduced Jay Chou as "Chinese singer Jay Chou," the singer nodded slightly and later reposted the clip to his overseas account. That small gesture set off a week of argument across the strait — and it has now escalated past the comment section. On October 21, Taiwan's pro-independence camp was attacking the singer for accepting the label, and Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office responded at its regular press briefing: compatriots on both sides of the strait are all Chinese, spokesperson Zhang Han said, and a Taiwan artist's identification with a Chinese identity is "a sincere expression of being an upright Chinese person." We covered the original Shanghai Masters moment and the comment fight it became when it happened; the new development is official Beijing stepping in.
The state-backed commentary program Beijing Time made the singer its lead item, running the Taiwan Affairs Office response under a headline asking what could possibly be wrong with being Chinese. The post — liked more than 11,000 times — assembled a retrospective of Chou's record: calling Taiwan a "province" on a variety show years ago, saying at a 2007 Beijing Olympics event in Shanghai that the Games would be held "in my own country," writing "I am Chinese — what is there to discuss?" (我是中国人，有什么可讨论的) when he went to the mainland to report rumors about his identity, listing China rather than "Chinese Taipei" on the entry form at this year's Australian Open, and donating more than 42 million yuan after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. "If we don't protect an artist like this, who would we protect?" the commentary asked.
The fight is not only about one singer. At the same October 21 press conference, officials were also asked about mainland actor Zhang Linghe, whose application to hold a fan meeting in Taiwan was rejected by the island's authorities — a pairing Chinese commentary framed as the same posture in two directions: shutting the door on a mainland artist while attacking a Taiwan artist for embracing a Chinese one. "Any move to split the bonds between people on both sides runs against the larger trend and loses hearts," the commentary concluded.
On the island, the grievance is precisely that artists' identities have become politicized; on the mainland, the attack on Chou has been read as proof of a deeper anxiety. "His attitude hasn't changed for so many years — what changed is the environment in Taiwan," wrote one widely-read commenter, arguing that curriculum changes since the Chen Shui-bian era cut a generation of young Taiwanese off from the connection their parents took for granted. A fan in Guangzhou put the personal version in an audio post: she has followed Chou since a college roommate introduced her to his music, and the point was never only the songs. "He has taken Chinese aesthetics and folded them into his melodies, seriously exporting our own culture — never just talking," she wrote.
What happens next is the part neither board can settle. The Taiwan Affairs Office statement puts the weight of policy behind artists who declare a Chinese identity; the island's authorities have shown they can withhold stages and permits in response. Chou, who has spent two decades avoiding the question until the question found him, has answered it once more. The next venue is the thing to watch.