TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese Indigenous singer and activist Panai Kusui (巴奈庫穗) Saturday (June 29) called on the public to not forget the Tiananmen Square Massacre during the Golden Melody Awards (GMA).
While accepting the Best Taiwanese Album award for her record "Iā-Pô" (夜婆), Panai said there are different ethnic groups with hardships on this “mother island of ours” as power changes hands between the green and blue camps, “but you must not think that pop music has nothing to do with politics.” She asked the audience to remember on the GMA's 35th anniversary, “Did you know that it is also exactly 35 years since the Tiananmen Square Incident? Let's not forget. Taiwan, stay strong!”
President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) congratulated Panai on Facebook for her comment. Lai emphasized, “Music is life, and music is unfettered freedom. We will continue to protect and defend the creative freedom of all musicians and continue to create a better environment and stage to showcase more musical works to everyone.”
However, the GMA Facebook page did not initially include her Tiananmen Square comment. This drew criticism from fans who described the move as “self-censorship," reported UDN.
Late Saturday evening, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) apologized for not including Panai's entire speech and published the full transcript. The ministry claimed each acceptance speech is transcribed and posted on social media by a team of editors to “match the ceremony's pace.”
It said the “excerpts” are posted on Facebook as quickly as possible and the commission was "by no means a deliberate attempt to present an incomplete version of the speech,” said the MOC.
On Sunday (June 30), Culture Minister Li Yuan (李遠) paid tribute to Panai on Facebook and said when many social movements needed support, “Panai always stood up without hesitation, armed with a guitar and singing while sitting on a soap box.” Li agreed that “1989 can never be forgotten” as the “cruel ‘Tiananmen Incident’ has become a part of history that has been vigorously covered up and erased.”
Li said 35 years later at the GMA ceremony, Panai brought it back to light. He thanked Panai for raising this issue and echoed her call for Taiwan to “stay strong.”
Panai told reporters backstage, “Democracy is a lengthy and not an easy journey, we are pressured as we don't know if we will be bullied by a 'bigger' power,” per Reuters. Panai added she mentioned Tiananmen because “Taiwan's democracy is a process that all of us need to cherish; our freedom and freedom of speech is what we need to protect.”
Panai's reference to the Tiananmen Square Massacre during her acceptance speech:
Panai's winning album on Spotify:
