Kevin Tsai Speaks Out After Campaign-Appearance Furor: Says He Never Supported Taiwan Independence and That Interviewing Is Not Endorsing
Taiwanese television host and author Kevin Tsai has been caught in a cross-strait furor over campaign appearances. After attending the October 4 opening of DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen's campaign headquarters, Tsai was criticized on Chinese social media; electric-vehicle maker Leapmotor removed promotional materials featuring him, and China's Taiwan Affairs Office also voiced criticism.
On the evening of October 25, Tsai posted a statement on Weibo and Facebook. He said he has always hoped for friendly cross-strait relations and "has never supported Taiwan independence." Having interviewed nearly 10,000 people of every viewpoint since 1998, he wrote, "interviewing someone does not mean I agree with what they say," and attending campaign events was preparation for interviews. His manager said Tsai had been considering interviewing both Shen and incumbent Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an.
On October 26, Tsai appeared as scheduled at Chiang Wan-an's campaign headquarters opening. He told reporters the statement was meant to say goodbye, apologize and give thanks to his fans in mainland China. Chiang said publicly that he respects Tsai's views and opposes boycotting anyone over political stance.
On October 29, a video interview of Tsai by veteran producer Wang Wei-chung went viral; Taiwan's FTV News reported it passed one million views in under a day. Some commentators compared Tsai's forced clarification to the 2016 case of singer Chou Tzu-yu, who was made to apologize after waving a Republic of China flag on a South Korean show.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图为台湾主持人、作家蔡康永（图源：Elle Taiwan/Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 3.0） / Taiwanese host and author Kevin Tsai (Elle Taiwan/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0)
