Tsai Kang-yong’s appearance at the Democratic Progressive Party’s election campaign was criticized, taking stock of the cases of “cutting Taiwan independence” in the mainland business community

Taiwan will hold local elections at the end of November. Taiwan's well-known host Tsai Kang-yong appeared at the Democratic Progressive Party's campaign event over the weekend, which attracted strong reactions from mainland Chinese netizens. Mainland brands that have cooperated with him also warned that they "reserve the right to pursue legal responsibility."

Tsai Kang-yong appeared on Sunday (October 4) at the inauguration meeting of legislator Shen Boyang’s Taipei mayoral campaign headquarters. In response to the question, Tsai Kang-yong said, "I just came to see it." His agent said that he is currently considering visiting the two major candidates for Taipei mayor and will try to learn as much as possible about their experiences and opinions.

Shen Boyang is the founder of the "Black Bear Academy" and has long promoted civil defense training and studied China's cognitive operations. China's Taiwan Affairs Office has included him in the list of "Taiwan independence die-hards", and the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau has opened a case to investigate Shen Boyang for "the crime of secession."

Tsai Kangyong's actions triggered a backlash on China's Internet and cut off the business community. "Tsai Kang-yong appeared at the Taiwan independence campaign venue" became a hot search on Weibo; Leapmotor, which had cooperated with him, issued a statement denying that Tsai Kang-yong was its spokesperson and said it had removed content related to him from the shelves.

Tsai Kang-yong, 64, is a well-known host in Taiwan. The TV program "Kangxi Is Coming" co-operated with Taiwanese artist "Little S" Xu Xidi is very popular in the Chinese-speaking circle. He is also one of the few openly gay people among Taiwanese public figures.

Tsai Kang-sheng was born in Taipei. His parents are from Shanghai. He is the second generation from other provinces. After studying in the United States in his early years, he returned to Taiwan and worked as a film critic and screenwriter. Later, he entered the radio, film and television circles and authored many works. In recent years, his work has developed in China.

Cai Kangyong was photographed on Sunday wearing a hat and mask at the inauguration meeting of Shen Boyang's campaign headquarters of the Democratic Progressive Party. He sat in the audience, holding an on-site flag and a cheering stick. When leaving the scene and facing reporters' questions, Tsai Kang-yong said, "I just came to see it," and he also wanted to hear the opinions of all parties. He also said, "If there is a chance, it would be great to interview every candidate."

After the news was exposed, "Tsai Kang-yong appeared at the Taiwan independence campaign venue" became a hot search on Weibo; netizens flooded Tsai Kang-yong's Douyin and Xiaohongshu accounts to leave messages, such as promoting "Taiwan will always belong to China", paying attention to when the account will be banned, and asking for work, "Who dares to offer you a job if you act like this?"

It is still the National Day holiday in mainland China. Military and political blogger "Zhongnan Swordsman" Peng Di, who has 1.76 million fans on Weibo, published a podcast video on Monday (5th), claiming that "the entire Internet is scolding Tsai Kangyong, which makes all of us who are happily celebrating the holiday very angry."

Peng Di, described by some Chinese state media as a "military V", did not elaborate on how to "deterrence" specifically, but the video received more than 9,600 likes on WeChat and was forwarded more than 1,700 times.

There are rumors on the Internet that Cai Kangyong’s Weibo has also been cleared. Cai Kangyong's Weibo currently has about 36 million fans. It is marked as "The blogger has set up to only display Weibo within half a year." However, he does not see any public posts and does not follow any accounts.

It is currently uncertain whether Weibo content has been cleared due to recent events, but reports from the end of 2022 indicate that Tsai Kangyong’s Weibo had been cleared at that time; he later stated in a public interview that it had been more than a year to sort out Weibo.

Zhejiang Leapmotor issued a statement late on Sunday night, reaffirming the "one China" principle and resolutely opposing any form of "Taiwan independence" separatist activities and all words and deeds that hurt national sentiments.

The statement emphasized that Cai Kangyong is not a spokesperson, but an artist who has participated in past cooperation content. The content related to it has been removed from the shelves, and he reserves the right to pursue legal responsibility. It also stated that it will further strengthen the background and position review of the partners.

It was reported that the well-known fashion magazine "Harper's Bazaar" deleted an interview conducted by Tsai Kang-yong in September.

Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the Global Times, a subsidiary of the Communist Party of China's official People's Daily, wrote in an article: "Artists who come to the mainland to develop are not allowed to support 'Taiwan independence'. This is an absolute red line that no one can step on. I think this is the high level of vigilance that all Taiwanese artists who come to the mainland should be cautious about."

The current Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan of the Chinese Kuomintang will run for re-election in the November election, and Shen Boyang of the Democratic Progressive Party is regarded as his main opponent.

When responding to the controversy over Tsai Kang-yong's attendance at Shen Boyang's rally, Jiang Wanan called on the mainland to respect Taiwan's free and democratic way of life and not to have any differential treatment based on political affiliation. He also said that if there is a program invitation, the staff team will plan it and will also invite Tsai Kang-yong to attend the establishment of his campaign headquarters.

Cai Kangyong later reposted a clip of Jiang Wanan's interview on social platforms, saying that after receiving the specific invitation, he would "happily go to observe and learn" and "try to dress up according to the clothing direction the host wants to create a party atmosphere."

Shen Boyang pointed out that Cai Kangyong came here because he wanted to listen to all kinds of different voices. "He came here. He didn't shout after us here. He came to see and say, eh, what did this person say? Then he might also want to see what another person said." He believed that doing such a thing "should be commonplace" in a democratic society.

Other candidates for mayor of Taipei include Kuo Xi, the "largest mahjong party in Taiwan", Xiao Wenqian, a member of the "Taiwan Bilingual Lawless Party", Tang Xinmin of the Three Powers Unity Promotion Alliance, and Lin Zhicheng, who is not a party member.

It often happens that people in Taiwan's performing arts and cultural circles are subjected to official public opinion and commercial pressure from the mainland because they are considered by mainland China to support "Taiwan independence" or have controversial political stances.

In 2021, "Little S" Xu Xidi, who has worked closely with Tsai Kang-yong, described Chinese Taipei athletes as "national players" during the Tokyo Olympics. She was also criticized by mainland netizens for supporting "Taiwan independence", and at least four mainland brands terminated their contracts with her.

In 2023, "Little S" daughter Xu Shaoen said "English is her mother tongue" in response to a netizen's question. Mainland netizens shouted for a boycott, and a mainland women's clothing brand terminated its advertising cooperation.