Senior musician Luo Dayou recently accepted an exclusive interview with media person Tang Xianglong and talked about the marital and childbearing status and provincial issues of former President Tsai Ing-wen, Vice President Xiao Meiqin and others, which triggered discussions from all walks of life. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan described some of Luo Dayou's remarks as "inspiring" and later clarified that he did not agree with judging women's contributions based on their marital and childbearing status. In this regard, the Facebook fan page "Voice and Politics" analyzed that although Luo Dayou received high attention in the pan-blue and pan-red media circles, Jiang Wanan's response also made him involved in the gender equality controversy, which may have an impact on his ability to win over middle voters.
"Volume View Politics" posted on Facebook that after reorganizing the YouTube live viewing data from November 2 to 11, it was found that Luo Dayou was interviewed by Tang Xianglong on the 10th. The next day, the number of views related to the live broadcast was about 9,700 for blue, about 8,200 for red, a total of about 17,900, and about 2,100 for green. According to its statistics, blue and red views accounted for nearly 90%, indicating that related topics have received high attention in these media circles. However, the fanzhuan emphasized that the increase in views does not mean audience approval, nor can it be directly inferred as vote support.
Please read on...
Fanzhuan analyzed that Luo Dayou has cross-generational cultural influence and openly criticized the DPP government, which might have become a favorable topic for the Kuomintang before the election. However, he mentioned in the interview that Tsai Ing-wen, Hsiao Meiqin and Chen Ju do not have children, and questioned whether they would consider the next generation. He also said that "people from other provinces have been bullied badly enough", which extended the discussion to issues such as gender equality, provincial identity and cultural subsidies.
In response to Jiang Wanan's response, "Voice and Politics" pointed out that during an interview on the morning of the 11th, Jiang Wanan described Luo Dayou's criticism of the central government as "inspiring" and affirmed his character as a cultural man. In the evening, he explained on the People's Party's live broadcast that he agreed with Luo Dayou's criticism of the central government's governance and did not agree with measuring women's contribution to the country by their marital or reproductive status.
Fans believe that Jiang Wanan did not directly express his support for Luo Dayou's remarks on marriage and childbearing in the morning, but when politicians publicly affirm controversial remarks, they still have to consider possible interpretations from the outside world. Now that he has added an explanation after the backlash in public opinion, it has also caused the outside world to re-examine his political judgment and gender concepts.
"Volume Depends on Politics" further mentioned that Tsai Ing-wen issued an article in response to the relevant controversy, quoting Luo Dayou's classic song "Childhood", saying that although she has no children, she still tries her best to protect every child in Taiwan. Fanzhuan said that the post received more than 240,000 likes within 7 hours, believing that this shows that the issue of marriage and childbearing has aroused widespread discussion, and also shifted the focus from whether individuals have children to how public policies can care for the next generation.
Fanzhuan pointed out that it was not just the green camp people who expressed different opinions on Luo Dayou's remarks. Taipei 101 Chairman Jia Yongjie criticized the relevant remarks as having old-fashioned thinking. New Taipei City Councilor Dai Xiangyi of the Kuomintang also said that these remarks touch on issues she cares about and have nothing to do with the party's position. Based on this analysis, Fanzhuo found that independence in marriage and childbearing may be an issue that transcends blue and green identities. It is worth observing whether Jiang Wanan’s statement affects the perception of women and middle voters.
In response to Luo Dayou's statement about provincial citizenship and cultural subsidies, "Voice Depends on Politics" believes that cultural workers enjoy the freedom to express political stances, and receiving government subsidies does not mean they must support the ruling party. Fanzhuan questioned that judging one’s political stance based on provincial citizenship or subsidy relationship may cause public discussion to fall back into the oppositional framework of the past.
Talking about the Taipei mayoral election, fans said that the November 28 polling day is getting closer. Jiang Wanan has recently increased his media exposure, but he must continue to respond to related controversies. In contrast, DPP candidate Shen Boyang's response to Luo Dayou's remarks focused on cultural policies and freedom of speech. Fans believe that the way the two handle disputes may become an important aspect for voters to observe politicians.
"Voice Depends on Politics" finally points out that Luo Dayou's high voice may not translate into electoral benefits for the Kuomintang. Whether Jiang Wanan's "inspiring" words will affect his political image remains to be seen later. Fanzhuo also admitted that there is currently no polling evidence that Jiang Wanan has lost the central vote because of this, but believes that this controversy highlights how politicians respond to gender, cultural and ethnic issues, and may become a focus of discussion in the election campaign.
