Report Says China Is Courting Tzuyu as Wu Hsin-dai Warns of Escalating Cultural Influence

Taiwan politician Wu Hsin-dai has warned that reported efforts to approach TWICE member Tzuyu's family point to a quieter form of political pressure, one built around access to China's entertainment market rather than public punishment.

Media reports said Tzuyu's contract with South Korean agency JYP Entertainment is nearing expiration and that China's Taiwan affairs system is seeking contact with her family. Wu said the reported offer could be tied to demands for future statements supporting the “One China” principle or unification.

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There is only one China, and both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one.

Wu compared the alleged strategy with the treatment Tzuyu received about a decade ago. After the then-16-year-old appeared on a South Korean program holding a Republic of China flag, entertainer Huang An repeatedly accused her of supporting Taiwan independence. Chinese internet users called for a boycott, advertising deals were withdrawn and performances were canceled. Tzuyu eventually recorded an apology video and read a prepared statement saying, “There is only one China, and both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one.”

Wu said the approach has since shifted from “punish those who do not make a statement” to offering markets, acting contracts, online traffic and endorsements to those who do. She said Chinese state media could issue unification messaging first, followed by Taiwanese entertainers reposting or endorsing it. Taiwan's National Security Bureau has also confirmed the use of one-China recognition documents, tax pressure and event approvals as political tools, she said.

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Punish those who do not make a statement.

She argued that the most effective pressure may come through companies, platforms and producers imposing their own limits rather than through direct government orders. Wu cited the rapid replacement of Lin Chi-ling from Chinese drama and variety programs after she publicly became a board member of Taiwan's Taiwan Creative Content Agency as a warning sign.

At the same time, Wu criticized Taiwan's legislature for cutting NT$10 billion from the Culture Ministry's budget and freezing another NT$3.86 billion. She said Public Television Service, TaiwanPlus and the Taiwan Creative Content Agency were among the institutions most affected, leaving Taiwan less able to offer artists a platform that does not require political concessions.

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As long as they make a statement, they receive markets, acting contracts, online traffic and endorsements.