The Taiwanese authorities have threatened to fine two singers for taking part in a mainland Chinese state media show.
Ouyang Nana, a Taiwanese cellist and singer, will join singers from Hong Kong and the mainland to perform the patriotic song My Motherland, which will be broadcast on CCTV on Wednesday.
The gala will also feature Angela Chang in a chorus celebrating the contributions of those who helped fight Covid-19.
The grand gala performance will be aired on Wednesday, the evening before National Day and will also feature several Hong Kong stars such as Angelababy Yang Ying and William Chan Wai-ting.
A CCTV trailer for the show features Ouyang saying she was “excited” to be taking part and looking forward to the show.
Meanwhile, Chang said: “Because of the epidemic, I feel that when we sing this song, it’s full of love. We would like to send positive energy to the audience.”
The singers have millions of fans on the mainland, but Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said their participation was an attempt by the Beijing authorities to put pressure on the island and promote a “one country, two systems” framework.
“In light of the increasingly severe cross-strait situation, Taiwanese should take the interests of Taiwan as a whole as their precondition for doing things.
“They should be clearly aware of the mainland’s measures and ambitions,” the council told the news portal Udn.com.
The Taiwan authorities have said they will punish the singers if they are found to have violated cross-strait regulations.
On Monday the Ministry of Culture said they could be fined up to half a million Taiwanese dollars (around US$17,000) if they are confirmed to have broken regulations, according to ETtoday.net.
The Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area bans Taiwanese people and organisations from engaging in political activities concerning the mainland.
Neither Ouyang nor Chang has responded to the threats so far.
Su Tseng-chang, the island’s premier, said: “Some people are enjoying our democracy and freedom as well as our medical insurance. As public figures, they went to the mainland to sing inappropriate songs. Taiwan people will make their own judgment.”
The overseas edition of the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily said in its editorial on Tuesday that it was “laughable” to threaten the singers for performing on the mainland.
Last year Ouyang, 20, who is studying in the United States, said she supported the one-China principle in an attempt to rebut online claims she supported Taiwanese independence.
“As an overseas student, people often ask me ‘where do you come from’,” she wrote in a Weibo post. “I come from China. This is my answer.”
Chang, 38, who has been popular on the mainland for over a decade, has previously appeared on CCTV’s Lunar New Year gala, the most-watched television show in China.
