In this column last week, I wrote that the Chinese military might be strong enough to challenge the US in the future, and that if American leaders think making compromises is in line with the principle of pragmatic diplomacy, the possibility of the US giving up on Taiwan would not be impossible. In sum, Taiwan has 10 to 15 years to find a way to save itself.

That is not to say Taiwan is not already trying to save itself though. In fact, the island has never sat idle waiting to be shot. Since the Kuomintang left mainland China, Taiwan’s overall achievements and average strength have surpassed the mainland. During this festive period, let’s talk about Taiwan’s pop music.

In October, a cross-strait political controversy was stirred up when Taiwanese singer Ouyang Nana and Angela Chang went to the mainland to sing patriotic songs on a China Central Television (CCTV) program to mark the National Day of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). According to the narrative of the island’s pop music scene, that was a case of Taiwanese singers selling their souls for money. But then, entertainment programs in China, including the CCTV’s highly politicized “New Year’s Gala” and programs celebrating China’s National Day, always feature some Taiwanese singers.

In my youth, I often listened to radio stations in Taiwan, which were regarded as “enemy broadcasters” in mainland China. I have written about those experiences many times. In those days, it was a crime to tune in to Taiwan’s radio channels. I would leave the radio on at night and fall asleep. Very often there were some strange, mysterious-sounding signals and messages. If there was music in between, I would be delighted. Compared with the sonorous and robust voices of the mainland’s radio hosts and revolutionary songs, the sounds emitting from the enemy broadcasters were decadent. Yet fast-forward to today, hosts of entertainment shows and singers in mainland China all imitate the Hong Kong and Taiwanese music styles, although the mainalnd’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has repeatedly banned them.

It is said that Teresa Teng’s famous song “When Will You Return” is the Taiwanese version of “Lily Marleen”. The voice of the Taiwanese singer had penetrated the iron curtain to reach big cities and rural areas across China. During the 1960s and 1970s, when China was shrouded in the depressing atmosphere of power struggles, civilians and military men were practically awaken by Teng’s voice, which taught them to respect, understand and cooperate with other people. From the standpoint of the Kuomintang, that was a successful “united front” initiative. The party should also have recognized the soft power of Taiwan and the fact that its ability to influence Chinese people far outweighed the money China spent on buying Taiwan’s media outlets. More importantly, it was people in China who dipped into their own pockets to buy Taiwanese products.

For many Chinese people, almost all Taiwanese songs are a kind of “Lily Marlene”. From my generation to the next few generations, people in China, be they from big cities or run-down villages, grew up listening to Hong Kong and Taiwanese pop music. CCTV’s “New Year’s Gala”, the biggest propaganda event of the broadcaster, always has some Hong Kong and Taiwan artists as leading guests.

Today, you can hardly find a popular TV show in China, be it “The Voice of China” or “I’m a Singer”, that features no Hong Kong and Taiwanese stars or no Hong Kong and Taiwanese songs sung by mainland musicians. Even reality shows like “Where Are You Going, Dad?” cannot do without some celebrities from Hong Kong and Taiwan. CCTV and Tianjin Television do have variety shows featuring only mainland artists, but those programs never manage to make it to the high end.

In recent years, patriotic people in China have been boycotting Christmas. Yet they do not boycott the New Year’s Day, which is also a Western thing. Likewise, they often boycott pro-independence Taiwanese celebrities but you never hear them boycott Hong Kong and Taiwanese music. Last year, renowned Hong Kong lyricist Lin Xi openly voiced support for Hong Kong’s protest movement. Afterwards, China’s state-owned media criticized him without being able to boycott all the songs he has written.

To be sure, the Chinese market have opened the eyes of many musicians. It provides a platform for them to showcase their talents and make big money. Which is why we say Taiwanese singers going to China are there for the money. The other side of the narrative is that the Chinese market needs these people. Without market demand, no one would invite them no matter how patriotic they are. A case in point is director and writer Wu Nien-jen, labeled by mainlanders as a “Taiwan independence dog”. Asked by Chinese netizens why he goes to the mainland to make money if he is pro-independence, he retorted: “It’s you who ask me to go there.”

If one day Lin demanded the removal of all the songs he has written from the mainland market, or if the Taiwanese government issued a ban on Taiwanese musicians performing in the mainland, the Chinese entertainment industry would be dealt a heavy blow. And, ironically, the CCP’s patriotic propaganda gala events would not be as effective in brainwashing people.

Pop music is a form of overt, highly visible form of culture. All kinds of creative culture and intellectual properties in Taiwan are in great demand in China. Behind this phenomenon is simply a scarcity of freedom of speech, freedom of thinking and democracy in China.

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