Chou Tzu-yu

Tzuyu

Chou Tzu-yu in June 2017
Background information
Native name 周子瑜
Birth name Chou Tzu-yu
Also known as Tzuyu
Born (1999-06-14) June 14, 1999
East District, Tainan, Taiwan
Genres K-pop
Occupation(s) Singer
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2015–present
Labels JYP Entertainment
Associated acts Twice
Chou Tzu-yu
Chinese name
Chinese 周子瑜
Korean name
Hangul 저우쯔위

Chou Tzu-yu (born June 14, 1999), known as Tzuyu, is a Taiwanese singer based in South Korea and a member of the K-pop girl group Twice, under JYP Entertainment.

In 2015, a televised appearance in South Korea in which she was shown holding the flag of the Republic of China sparked a controversy in China.[1] A video of Tzuyu apologising for the incident, subsequently released by JYP Entertainment on January 15, 2016, sparked further outrage in Taiwan.[2]

Life and career

Chou Tzu-yu performing at Seoul Arts College in February 2016

Chou Tzu-yu was born in Tainan, Taiwan, on June 14, 1999 to parents of self-made entrepreneurs. In 2012, she was seen by talent scouts at the MUSE Performing Arts Workshop in Tainan, and travelled to South Korea in November that year to become a K-pop trainee.[3] After more than two years of training, she appeared on the South Korean reality show Sixteen in 2015, during which she was chosen as one of the nine members of the new girl band Twice. The group made its debut in October 2015. She currently attends Hanlim Multi Art School in Seoul.[4]

According to a Gallup Korea survey, Tzuyu was the third most popular idol among young South Koreans in 2016, behind Taeyeon and IU.[5]

Flag incident

In November 2015, Tzuyu appeared with Twice on the Korean variety show My Little Television. She introduced herself as Taiwanese and held the ROC flag alongside that of South Korea. The Japanese flag was also shown, representing the nationality of some of the band's other members.[1]

The Taiwanese-born, China-based singer Huang An took to his Sina Weibo account and accused her of being a Taiwanese independence activist.[6] Just days before calling attention to Tzuyu, Huang had accused Hong Kong actor Wong He of making insulting comments about mainland China on Facebook. Wong's face was subsequently blurred out on China's state run China Central Television, and Wong issued an apology.[7]

Mainland Chinese internet users reacted angrily towards Tzuyu's actions, accusing her of "profiting from her mainland Chinese audience while holding a pro-independence stance". Soon after, Twice was barred from Chinese television and Tzuyu was pulled out of her endorsement with Chinese communications company Huawei. JYP Entertainment suspended all her activities in China for the time.[8]

On January 15, 2016, the day before the Taiwanese general election, JYP Entertainment's founder Park Jin-young apologized to the Chinese media through his Weibo account. Meanwhile, the agency also released a video showing Tzuyu reading an apology, which said in part:

“ There is only one China, the two sides of the strait are one, and I have always felt proud to be Chinese. I feel extremely apologetic to my company and to Internet friends on both sides of the strait for the hurt that I have caused, and I also feel very guilty.[9] ”

Reaction

Chou's apology shocked and infuriated the Taiwanese public on the election day; many believed that it was made under duress.[10] The three candidates running for Taiwan's presidency all released statements to support her. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-wen stated that "a citizen of the Republic of China should not be punished for waving her flag and expressing support for her country. [Chou Tzuyu] has been forced to say the exact opposite of what she originally meant, so this is a serious matter and it has hurt the feelings of the Taiwanese people." Meanwhile, the ruling party Kuomintang's candidate Eric Chu disapproved of the hate directed at Chou, stating that he was saddened by the video, and condemned the actions of Huang An and JYP Entertainment. Taiwan's outgoing president Ma Ying-jeou stated on the morning of election day that she had no need to apologize.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) stated that it supported Chou's waving a Republic of China flag as a patriotic act. It lodged a protest with the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), urging the Chinese government to "restrain its private sector", which it said had "seriously hurt the feelings" of the Taiwanese people and might further damage Cross-Strait relations. It condemned Huang An's move, and urged people on both sides of the strait "to cherish the hard-earned friendly ties".[11]

The People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, published an article on its social media account saying that it was unfair to label Chou a "Taiwanese separatist" for waving a flag of the Republic of China, adding that "The expression of the Republic of China contains the 'one China' principle".[12]

JYP Entertainment said that, because Chou was under 18, the company had sought the consent of her parents before she made the video apology.[12] They further stated, "An individual's belief is not something that a company can or should force upon another, and this has never happened."[13]

Effect on election

The incident gained international attention as it was believed to have affected the 2016 Taiwanese general election, which Tsai Ing-wen won by a wide margin. While Tsai and her pro-independence DPP were already leading the polls months before the election,[9][14] a survey found that Chou's video apology affected the decision of about 1.34 million young voters, either by swaying them to vote or change their votes.[15] Scholars believe that the incident probably contributed one or two percentage points to Tsai's winning margin.[14] Tsai mentioned the incident in her victory speech, saying that it had "angered many Taiwanese people, regardless of their political affiliation" and would "serve as a constant reminder [to her] about the importance of [Taiwan]'s strength and unity to those outside our borders."[14][16]

Effect on Huang An

Chou's apology video prompted Taiwanese backlash against instigator Huang An. Among other responses by Taiwanese media, a popular Taiwanese television program cancelled Huang’s upcoming appearance, while a karaoke chain permanently removed his discography from its playlists.[17] Over 10,000 angered Taiwanese citizens pledged to attend a street rally in criticism of Huang on January 24, 2016.[18] However, the rally was cancelled to prevent the event from being politically exploited or negatively impacting Chou.[19]

Taiwanese human rights lawyer George Wang (王可富) filed lawsuits with the Taipei District Prosecutors Office against Huang An and JYPE following the apology video's release. Wang cited that Huang's actions likely violated the Criminal Code and that combined psychological pressure from Huang and the agency impeded Chou's autonomy and impelled her to do something she was not required to do.[16][20]

Huang announced on his Weibo account that he would hold a press conference February 3, 2016, in Taiwan to discuss his side of the story, claiming that he was not the wrongdoer and crediting himself with the incident's impact on the Taiwanese election.[17][21] Shortly after, Huang wiped all self-generated posts from his Weibo account, amounting to roughly 4,900 messages and photos.[19]

Effect on JYP Entertainment

On the Monday after the video's release, JYP Entertainment shares on the KOSDAQ fell from a 52-week high of KR₩6,300+ to ₩4,000, ultimately closing at ₩4,300.[22]

In addition to George Wang's lawsuit, the Center for Multicultural Korea also questioned the company's ethics. The Center will conduct an investigation to determine if Chou's apology was coerced or voluntary and plans to sue Park Jin-young and JYP Entertainment for racial discrimination and human rights violation if the action is found to have been forced.[23]

The day after Chou's apology, anonymous hackers executed what appeared to be a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on the JYP Entertainment site.[24] JYP Entertainment stated that while the identity and origin of the hackers would be almost impossible to trace, they suspected a strong connection between the attack and the controversy surrounding Chou.[25] Korean media outlets contend that a certain Taiwanese hacking group implemented the attack after the group claimed credit on social media.[23]

In response to criticism, JYP Entertainment announced that it would be adopting new procedures concerning its exports and overseas activities in order to protect employees from future controversy. This included the implementation of cultural sensitivity training for its artists and staff members. In an interview with The Korea Times, a JYP representative stated that the training would include issues pertaining to political conflicts between countries.[26]

Filmography

Reality/variety shows

Year Title Role Network Note
2015 Sixteen Contestant Mnet Survival show that determined Twice members

References

  1. 1 2 Politi, Daniel (16 Jan 2016). "Did a 16-Year-Old Pop Star Help Pro-Independence Party Win Taiwan’s Election?". Slate. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Tzuyu Public Apology (video). South Korea: JYP Entertainment on YouTube / Google Inc. January 15, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  3. ↑ Gloria Chan (16 January 2016). "Who is the 16-year-old girl at the centre of a political storm ahead of Taiwan's presidential poll?". South China Morning Post.
  4. ↑ Yi, Sohui (2016-04-13). "JYP 측 "쯔위 한림예고 합격, 등교 시기 논의 중"". 뉴스웨이. News Way (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  5. ↑ Gallup Report 20161220
  6. ↑ Chung, Jake (15 Jan 2016). "Chou Tzu-yu deal in jeopardy after Huang An tip-off". Taipei Times. p. 1.
  7. ↑ "Hong Kong star's face blurred out on Chinese state TV show after he shared news report suggesting former premier Zhou Enlai was gay". South China Morning Post.
  8. ↑ "Taiwanese K-pop singer Chou Tzu-yu mired in flag row". The Straits Times.
  9. 1 2 Buckley, Chris; Ramy, Austin (17 January 2016). "Singer’s Apology for Waving Taiwan Flag Stirs Backlash of Its Own". The New York Times.
  10. ↑ Li Xueying (16 January 2016). "Video of K-pop singer Chou Tzu-yu apologising for waving flag angers Taiwanese on polling day". The Straits Times.
  11. ↑ C.C. Zai; Flor Wang (16 January 2016). "MAC asks China to rein in private sector in wake of flag controversy". Focus Taiwan.
  12. 1 2 Jun Mai (18 January 2016). "‘Separatist’ label ‘unfair for Taiwan’s teen pop star Chou Tzu-yu: Chinese state media". South China Morning Post.
  13. ↑ Cheng, Jonathan; Lee, Min-sun; Dou, Eva. "Ripples From Flag-Waving Brouhaha Continue to Spread". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 "Taiwan election: How a penitent pop star may have helped Tsai win". BBC. 18 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Minnie Chan (17 January 2016). "Teen pop star Chou Tzu-yu's apology for waving Taiwan flag swayed young voters for DPP". South China Morning Post.
  16. 1 2 Chen, Christie (18 January 2016). "Timeline of the Chou Tzu-yu flag controversy". Focus Taiwan. Central News Agency.
  17. 1 2 Horwitz, Josh. "Why a washed-up pop star is suddenly the most hated man in Taiwan". Quartz. Atlantic Media Co. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "Politicians Weigh into Taiwan Teen Starlet Controversy". The Chosun-Ilbo. 18 January 2016.
  19. 1 2 "China-based Taiwanese singer deletes online messages after flag row". Yonhap News Agency. 20 January 2016.
  20. ↑ Hsieh, Nine (20 January 2016). "JYP Entertainment and Huang An face lawsuit over teen pop star spat". China Post.
  21. ↑ "Huang An to explain his side of story next month". Taipei Times. 19 January 2016.
  22. ↑ Park, Hyong-ki; Lee, Joel (18 January 2016). "[Newsmaker] JYP in tight spot over Tzuyu furor". The Korea Herald. Herald Corporation. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  23. 1 2 Sung, So-young (19 January 2016). "Criticism narrows in on JYP, Park". Korea JoongAng Daily. JoongAng Ilbo. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  24. ↑ "S Korea website 'hacked' over Chou Tzuyu Taiwan flag row". BBC News. BBC. 19 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  25. ↑ "Cyber attacks brings down JYP Entertainment website". The Korea Times. The Korea Times. 18 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  26. ↑ Kim, Jae-heun (18 January 2016). "JYP Entertainment to overhaul hallyu strategy". The Korea Times. The Korea Times. Retrieved 28 January 2016.

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