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ROC songs may come from China
FORGERY:Two participants in a centennial song contest
appeared to have faked their citizenship, while Dog G’s song did not make the
top five, despite polling at No. 1
By Tseng Wei-chen / Staff Reporter, with CNA
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen
Ting-fei holds up a photo at a press conference yesterday.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Some of the songs auditioned by the Council of Cultural Affairs for the Republic
of China’s (ROC) 100th anniversary might actually be praising the People’s
Republic of China (PRC), Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei
(陳亭妃) said yesterday.
In preparation for the 100th anniversary celebrations, the council has held
auditions for a new song to commemorate the founding of the ROC. One of the
requirements is that the composer be an ROC citizen.
However, three songs posted online for Internet voting were written by people
who are believed to be Chinese, Chen said, adding that the council’s evaluation
process was “sloppy.”
The first of the three songs in question, Everyone’s Chinese, was written by
Chen Chih-kuang (陳志光). The song advocates the unification of Taiwan and China,
Chen Ting-fei said.
Chen Chih-kuang said the song was inspired by a trip to China, adding that it
was an exploration of a diversified culture and melding of ethnicities.
From the viewpoint of Atayal Aborigines, the people on both sides of the Strait
share the same roots, Chen Chih-kuang said.
“Don’t politicize it too much,” Chen Chih-kuang said.
The second song, Beautiful Future by Su Yung-sheng (蘇永勝), and the third, Thank
you, by Yan Pang of the Va tribe — of Yunnan Province — are both suspected to
come from citizens of the PRC.
Rufus Chen (陳功儒), general manager of Kwan Kwan Marketing Corp, the corporation
in charge of the polling, said participants had to submit their ROC social ID
number or their ROC passport number to be able to submit their creation.
He said initial checks had found that Chen Chih-kuang was an Atayal ROC national
and therefore eligible to participate.
However, the other two participants appeared to have faked their ROC
citizenship, he said, adding that efforts were being made to determine the
participants’ true nationalities.
“They will be charged with forgery if they do not have ROC citizenship,” Rufus
Chen said.
The auditions sparked another controversy when Dog G’s (大支) Changing Taiwan
failed to make it into the top five songs.
Dog G makes a face in a photo taken in August
last year.
Photo from Dog G’s blog
Often seen performing at pan-green rallies, Dog G’s song was No. 1 in the
Internet polling, with more than 10,000 votes.
Fans said the council’s scoring system was unfair.
In response, the council said it didn’t have any “black box operations” and that
Internet polling only accounted for 30 percent of total scoring, while other
evaluations accounted for the remaining 70 percent.
“We welcome any participant with questions concerning scoring to call us and
we’ll ask the judges on your behalf,” the council said.
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