TWICE member Chou Tzuyu's waving of the Taiwanese flag and her subsequent controversial apology for the action had significant repercussions in her country's recent elections as well as swayed the votes of many young voters.
For example, it triggered an outpouring of younger voters to support Tsai Ing-wen from the independent Democratic Progressive Party and win the presidential elections, according to various media reports.
"While only 66 percent of registered voters cast ballots, the Democratic Progressive Party's Tsai Ing-wen gained 56 percent of the votes, which the association attributed to young people swayed by the Tzuyu's apology the night before the elections," reports The Korea Times.
Election polls also suggested that roughly 19.5% of the votes for Tsai Ing-wen came from the younger generation, reports Yonhap News.
The controversy surrounding Tzuyu began after a video of her waving the Taiwanese flag circulated online as part of the group's promotions displaying the members' multi-cultural roots. The video triggered heavy criticism among mainland Chinese who do not support the independence of Taiwan from the People's Republic of China, which governs Mainland China.
With the public backlash leading to event cancellations not only for TWICE but also for other artists under the group's label JYP Entertainment, Tzuyu came out with an apology for her action, claiming she had no political intentions.
Tzuyu's apology further blew up the controversy amid perception among online commenters that she was forced to protect herself, her group and her agency. Alongside the criticisms, the idol has also been garnering sympathy from those who believe it was wrong to put a 16-year-old girl through so much scrutiny and bullying.
Tsai, who is set to be first-ever female President of Taiwan, told Taiwanese journalists shortly after her election that she felt Chou had been coerced into making the statement.
"I believe everyone feels hurt and angry to see that Chou was forced to do what she was made to do," Tsai said, according to a South China Morning Post report. "This has offended and hurt the feelings of the people of Taiwan. Everyone should unite to voice their belief to the world that no national of the Republic of China should be [attacked] for identifying with her country."
Earlier this week, China's People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, responded to the controversy and declared that there was nothing wrong with the young star's display of the Taiwanese flag.
"Chou's waving of the flag [of Taiwan] is an act of recognizing the 'Republic of China'," read an article by the People's Daily published on Sunday, according to the South China Morning Post. "The expression of the Republic of China contains the 'one China' principle. 'One China with respective interpretations' is an understood concept across the strait."
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Mickey is a writer and digital content creator based in Manila. He is a co-founder of ZAVI App and editor of the small business blog IndieMickey. He has also been bitten by the K-Pop fashion bug - follow him on Instagram @mickjami.
