The video released by JYP Entertainment featuring Chou Tzuyu’s apology has become a focal point of intense discussion across East Asia. A 16-year-old girl, standing alone in front of a camera and reciting a script that sounds like a coerced confession, is a sight that few can witness without feeling a sense of unease.
From a business perspective, JYP’s move was a cold, calculated attempt to protect its interests in the massive mainland Chinese market. To the corporate giants of South Korea, the national sentiments of 23 million people in Taiwan are easily sacrificed compared to the potential loss of access to over a billion consumers.
However, this incident also forces us to confront the reality of our national identity. When a young girl holding the ROC flag—a symbol of our state’s existence—is treated as a “pro-independence” insurgent, it reveals how fragile our “status quo” truly is.
We must ask ourselves: if we cannot even stand up for our own symbols and our own people when they are bullied for simply being who they are, what does our “sovereignty” really mean? The “JYP lesson” is a reminder that in the world of international power and business, silence and ambiguity are not always a shield; sometimes, they are an invitation for further suppression.