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Taiwanese Pop Icon Labeled ‘Japanese Mongrel’ by Chinese District Court
July 17, 2016
Last Updated: July 18, 2016
Taiwanese pop singer Jay Chou during a press conference to promote a local motorcycle in Taipei on March 29, 2013. A Chinese court stepped out of their way to insult the singer garnering strong criticism from the web. (SAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images)
A Gansu district court recently stepped outside its jurisdiction by attacking a renowned Taiwanese pop star with personal insults, garnering strong reaction from Chou’s millions of Chinese fans.
On July 13, the Hezheng County Court in Gansu Province of north-central China posted a biting critique of singer and composer Jay Chou on their official weibo site, calling him a “Japanese mongrel” and questioning his professionalism.
“He claimed himself a Japanese mongrel. His singing is in a total mess, just like chanting the scriptures,” the court wrote.
The court swiftly removed the post and issued an apology on July 14, after netizens widely circulated the screenshots online, claiming “improper management of weibo administrators.”
Chou’s angered fans did not buy the official explanation, however. Within hours, the apology was besieged with over 1,300 comments from Weibo users over the casual attitude of Chinese judicial authorities, according to Apple Daily.
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Official court apology with 1,388 responses. (Weibo)
“The esteemed court unreasonably defaming an artist—isn’t this a crime?” remarked a commenter.
“How many grievances and injustices will there be if they begin a court session with this casual attitude?” wrote another.
Chou, who was named Time Magazine’s New King of Asian Pop in 2003, and is a 13-time winner of the Golden Melody—the Taiwanese equivalent to the Grammy Award—made his name for his ground-breaking combination of Western pop music with a traditional Chinese influence. His rap and blues songs, such as “Blue and White Porcelain,” and “Chrysanthemum Terrace,” have enjoyed wide popularity among Chinese adolescents for over a decade.
Chou appeared undisturbed by the insults. “My singing is indeed a mess,” Chou responded in a record signing event for his new Album Jay Chou’s Bedtime Stories on July 16. “There’s all kinds of bizarre news on the internet and we don’t need to heed them. It’s enough to just respond to those that are positive,” Chou said.