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A-Mei's stance leads to a bumpy road Taiwan singer A-Mei's in trouble again - and whether her proposed summer concert dates will go ahead remains to be seen.
A-Mei originally fell from grace on the Chinese mainland in May 2000, when she sang "Taiwan's anthem" at a public performance. After a two-year spell out of the Chinese headlines, she returned to favor - but has found herself on the wrong side of entertainment regulators once more.
The singer was originally booked for a small concert in Hangzhou on June 12, sponsored by an ice tea company. Ahead of the event, however, a group of university students began to post messages and comments made by A-Mei in recent months on a local BBS. The singer reportedly told fans, "You are Chinese - I'm Taiwanese." She went on to add, "It doesn't matter whether I'm green or not, that doesn't affect my singing career," referring to her political affiliation with Taiwan independence. Fighting back, the students posted messages on their BBS stating: "We'll make the green singers pay for what they say and so," and "Don't pay money to support green singers in China."
When the day of the concert arrived, A-Mei was stopped from going on to the stage by an impromptu gathering of students who had read the BBS and who intended to protest her comments. Although a message was also posted on the site warning students that they should not attempt to harm the singer in any way, or interfere with fans at the event, the end result was that the show was stopped and the star headed off home without having sung a note.
A-Mei returned to Taiwan the next day, hiding at home for two days. When she finally emerged, she told journalists that she understood the students' anger, but that she didn't want the affair blown out of proportion.
Internet chatrooms and BBS were filled with stories of a "Green List" naming Taiwan singers considered to be in favor of Taiwan independence. According to an announcement by the Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing, such a list of banned singers does not exist, and the situation was dismissed as rumormongering. "All singers from Taiwan are welcome on the Chinese mainland," read the announcement. "There is no so-called 'Green List' of forbidden singers."
By June 17, organizers of A-Mei's scheduled Beijing concert, set for July 31, were maintaining there was no change in plans to hold the concert, and ticket sales were going ahead. The China Performing Arts Association (CPAA), charged with selling the tickets, however, said they had decided to suspend ticket sales. A spokesman for the CPAA told reporter they were still waiting a final decision on the concert from the government, meaning all further media promotions for the event had stopped. A representative of the event promoters Great Dragon Culture Co., surnamed Liu, said that media coverage had been postponed, but that the event itself was still going ahead as planned.
A spot as warm-up guest for fellow pop star Wang Lee-Hom in Shanghai was cancelled, although organizers maintained events in Hangzhou had nothing to do with the decision, blaming the switch on conflicting brand promotion deals (Lee-Hom is the poster boy for Wahaha water, while A-Mei is the face of Kang Shifu ice tea).
Whether or not A-Mei is once more persona non grata on the Chinese mainland remains to be seen. Taiwan responded to the issue, however, by threatening to bar mainland stars in retaliation, naming Zhao Wei, Wang Fei, and Na Ying.
So it seems, whether or not A-Mei is green or not is of the utmost importance.
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Of greatest concern to students on the nation's BBS sites was how this
furor will affect a concert planned to take place in Taiwan on September 4,
where more than ten singers from the Chinese mainland are already booked to
play.
