Taiwan Denies Entry to Chinese Rapper Over Controversial Promotional Material

Taiwan has denied entry to Chinese rapper Wang Yitai, scheduled to perform mid-September, after he used the term 'Taipei, China' in his promotional material. Authorities cited violations of entry regulations. Wang's concert tickets had already been sold out, but the promotional content was deemed unacceptable by Taiwan's government.

In a recent development, Taiwanese authorities have denied entry to Chinese rapper Wang Yitai, who was slated to perform in Taiwan in mid-September. The denial comes after Wang used the term 'Taipei, China' in his promotional materials, Focus Taiwan reported, citing local media sources.

Wang Yitai, associated with the Cheng Du Corporation rap label and boasting over 5 million fans on Weibo, was scheduled to hold his first solo concert in Taipei on September 14-15. The concert, part of his tour following his third album release 'Love Me Later,' had tickets priced between 1,190 NTD (USD 37.43) and 2,900 NTD (USD 91.23), with the September 14 show already sold out as of Saturday evening.

Taiwanese government agencies, including the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), found that Wang's promotional images on Xiaohongshu featured a sign with 'Beijing South Station: Beijing to Taipei, China' and a caption stating 'Next stop: Taipei, China.' This prompted an official investigation revealing that concert ticket sales began before the entry application was submitted. Subsequently, MAC confirmed that the promotional content violated entry regulations, leading to the cross-ministerial decision to deny Wang's entry.

The MAC stated that while Taiwan welcomes mainland Chinese artists and encourages cross-strait music exchanges, such exchanges must be based on equality and mutual respect. Any promotional content demeaning Taiwan's status is considered unacceptable, the council added.

(With inputs from agencies.)