AS TAIWANESE vote for a new president tomorrow, many of the island's celebrities are wringing their hands, fearful that their support for pro-independence candidate Tsai Ing-wen would get them on a black list and cut them off from lucrative jobs on mainland China.
Ironically, the list they fear is not an official one but the work of a Beijing-based, 53-year-old Taiwan-born singer. It had first emerged during Hong Kong's Occupy Central movement in late 2014 and has since grown.
One of the latest names that self-appointed "witch-hunter" Huang An put on his list is Tzuyu, a Taiwanese in the multinational, nine-member K-pop girl group Twice. Twice is under South Korea's JYP Entertainment, whose other K-pop groups include Wonder Girls, 2PM and GOT7.
Last week, a post by Huang on Weibo, China's top microblogging site, said he was continuing his campaign to only "expose" the 16-year-old as a likely promoter of Taiwan independence from China.
"Last year, I had already reported that she waved a Taiwan nation flag on a Korean television programme," wrote Huang, known for his 1993 breakthrough hit New Dream Of Butterfly Lovers. The Korea Herald said the show aired in November.
"After that, (Taiwan's) Sanlih-E Television tried to make her a spokesman for 'Taiwan independence'. Now, she and some of Twice's members are going to appear in a Chinese New Year programme on (China's) Anhui Television.
"Please forward this post."
Following Huang's post, Anhui TV reportedly terminated a contract with the South Korean agency that arranged jobs for Twice in China.
China technology company Huawei was also said to have instructed its operator in South Korea to stop using the girl as a spokesman for one of its mobile phones in the country.
The faces of the members of Twice, including Tzuyu's, reportedly vanished from a poster for a Beijing Television programme to be broadcast during Chinese New Year, although they were featured in the previous one.
On Wednesday, JYP China said on Weibo: "We (including Tzuyu) didn't make any remarks against China. Considering her age and educational level, it is hard to say that she made political remarks. Her work in China will be delayed until the truth is laid bare."
Huang's vigilantism does not only target fresh faces, as this week he also took on No-No, a veteran Taiwanese television host and comedian.
According to Huang, the 44-year-old, whose real name is Chen Hsuan-yu, avidly supports a pro-independence candidate running for a legislative seat in tomorrow's polls.
"This is what I call a two-timer: Supporting Taiwan independence while digging gold in China. Although No-No is an old friend of mine, I must still report him," wrote Huang in a Weibo post.
The post might have been effective as China's Hubei Television announced that anyone known to pursue Taiwan independence would have his image expunged from its programmes. No-No had been in a Hubei Television show.
Earlier, Taiwan's Mandopop singer Yoga Lin and indie singer-songwriter Crowd Lu had their concerts in China cancelled following similar allegations by Huang.
Huang's name is equally feared in Hong Kong's entertainment circle since he pinpointed award-winning actor Anthony Wong as a supporter of the 79-day Occupy Central movement, which aimed to force Beijing to grant the city greater autonomy. Wong has complained publicly that the accusation caused his income to fall.
Last week, Hong Kong actor Wong Hei became Huang's target when China Central Television broadcast a variety show in which he played a part, with Wong's face pixellated.
This came after Huang highlighted that the actor shared an article on Facebook which claimed China's late prime minister Zhou Enlai, who is widely revered by the Chinese, might have been gay.
myp@sph.com.sg
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