Mainland Chinese journalist Wang Zhian banned from Taiwan after mocking disabled DPP candidate

YouTuber Wang Zhian is blocked from the island after saying the ruling Democratic Progressive Party uses people with disabilities to gain support
Taipei authorities say the entry ban – its first for a mainland reporter – was issued because Wang visited on a tourist visa then made TV appearance

Taiwan election 2024

Amber Wangin Beijing

Published: 8:00pm, 26 Jan 2024

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Taiwanese authorities have blocked the entry of an influential mainland reporter after he made an offensive joke about a disabled legislative candidate from the island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party during a talk show appearance in Taipei.

The move has sparked heated debate in Taiwan and beyond. While most on the island have been supportive of the five-year entry ban against former Chinese state media reporter Wang Zhian, some have criticised the DPP for silencing its critics.

Taipei’s announcement of the ban – its first against a reporter from mainland China – came two days after Wang appeared on a Taiwanese political talk show during his 14-day visit to the island to create election-related content for his YouTube channel, which has more than 1 million subscribers.

Wang, who has been banned from mainland Chinese social media, is based in Tokyo.

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Taiwan’s National Immigration Agency said on Wednesday that the ban was imposed because Wang entered Taiwan on a tourist visa, but his participation in the show did not correspond with the purpose of the trip.

For years, Taiwanese authorities turned a blind eye to mainland Chinese reporters, especially independent ones, who travelled to the island for news coverage. Wang also visited the island in October and took part in Taiwanese television and online programmes, without any consequences after the trip.

Wang was invited to be a guest on The Night Night Show with Hello, which aired on Monday. During the appearance, Wang, who is well known as outspoken, said the ruling DPP had used disabled people to gain support during pro-election rallies.

“I think the Taiwan elections are like shows … It’s not like a political campaign stage, it’s like a concert venue … There are singers … and also those who wheel out disabled people [to the stage] to arouse sympathy,” Wang said.

“When the music started, the disabled person immediately said he supported the Democratic Progressive Party,” he said while appearing to imitate the voice of Taiwanese lawyer and DPP legislative candidate Chen Chun-han, who has spinal muscular atrophy.

On January 11, two days before the island’s presidential and legislative elections, Chen attended a DPP rally where he sat in a wheelchair and called on people to support the party.

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DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao on Tuesday “condemned” Wang’s comments, saying his “ridiculing” of campaigners was “malicious”.

Chen said on Wednesday that Wang “has a great lack of empathy for people with disabilities”.

“He seems to think that people with disabilities should not run for election and can only be used as tools,” Chen said.

On Wednesday, Wang said on X, formerly Twitter, that he would apologise to Chen “if he feels offended”.

“But this is not inconsistent with my condemnation of the DPP for using people with disabilities as electoral tools,” he added. He also insisted that the talk show was about “the art of offending” and required a “free environment”.

Wang’s comments drew criticism from other political parties. Politicians from the Kuomintang, the island’s main opposition party, and the Taiwan People’s Party also expressed support for Chen while opposing Wang’s remarks.

But the decision to ban Wang prompted some commenters to accuse the DPP of overreacting and selective enforcement.

One commenter on the online discussion platform PTT said: “The party really cannot tolerate people opposing the party. I am talking about the Green Communist Party here.” The DPP is associated with the colour green in Taiwanese politics.

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Wang, 55, worked for state broadcaster CCTV from 1998 to 2015. Starting in 2017, he became well-known in mainland China for Hard Talk with Wang, his investigative talk programme for The Beijing News.

In June 2019, Wang’s Chinese social media accounts were suddenly deleted for reasons that are still unclear. Wang speculated during a podcast last year that the ban was either related to his influence or because he offended mainland China’s “interest groups” with his investigative reporting.

Wang flew to Japan in 2020 to continue his career as a journalist. His YouTube videos touch on a wide range of social and political issues in China.

He has become more critical and outspoken about mainland China’s politics, including its media environment.

During his appearance on the Taiwanese talk show, the host presented Wang with a copy of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China. Wang then took out a book that looked somewhat similar, titled Wang Zhian: The Governance of China, which he said would be available on Amazon soon.