Yoga Lin gets flak for speaking up on the China-Taiwan trade pact
Taiwanese Mando-pop singer Yoga Lin has drawn flak from Chinese netizens for reposting a lecturer's analysis on the Taiwanese-China trade agreement last Wednesday. The trade pact has resulted in much protests and uproar from the Taiwanese public recently.
The essay, which was titled ˜The impact the trade agreement has on my country', raised the ire of many Chinese netizens, who even demanded that he get out of China.
There were even rumours that China had stopped airing Yoga's songs due to the controversy, and that his concert on June 7 could be cancelled.
Despite the uproar, Yoga remained unfazed and posted an explanation of the essay online. Perhaps every impact has a message, he said. We must not be indifferent towards public affairs.
Yoga, who is in Shanghai to promote his concert, also tried to clear the air during a press conference yesterday.
My intention (of sharing the post) is the same as when I shared little bits of my life, he explained. It's not politically motivated, so I hope my words will not be misinterpreted.
When queried by reporters if he is afraid his popularity in China may be affected, he did not answer directly. Instead, he said: I feel that as long as I focus on producing good music, and that my intentions are good, we can continue to sing.
The press conference ended in 15 minutes, and media queries related to political affairs were left unanswered.
Yoga is not the only celebrity who has received flak for being vocal about the trade pact. Hong Kong and Taiwanese stars such as Mayday, Deserts Chang, Denise Ho, and Chapman To have faced the same issue, only that amongst them, Yoga is the first to face the press in China.
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