Kevin Tsai says he has never supported Taiwan independence

EXPLANATION: Tsai said he attended events featuring various interviewees to observe them firsthand as part of his interview research

• By Fu Fuming-yu / Staff reporter

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Television host Kevin Tsai (蔡康永) last night broke his silence over a controversy surrounding his appearance at a campaign event for Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋), saying he had never supported Taiwan independence.

“I have always hoped for friendly cross-strait relations. I have never supported Taiwan independence,” Tsai wrote in a Facebook post.

Tsai, who has hosted television shows in China, attended the opening of Shen’s campaign headquarters on Oct. 4, drawing criticism from Chinese social media users and prompting some Chinese companies to distance themselves from him.

A picture of television host Kevin Tsai, left, is shown alongside a post on his Facebook page yesterday.

Photo: Screen grab from Tsai's Facebook page

China’s Taiwan Affairs Office also criticized those who, it said, sought to benefit from the Chinese market while maintaining ties with what it called “Taiwan independence forces.”

Tsai said at the time that he attended the event to hear different perspectives. His manager said he was considering interviewing Shen and incumbent Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安), who is seeking re-election as the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate.

In yesterday’s post, Tsai said that since beginning his career as an interviewer in 1998, he had spoken with nearly 10,000 guests from across the political spectrum.

“I have never become a follower of any of them. Interviewing someone does not mean I agree with them,” he wrote.

Addressing the controversy, Tsai explained that he had recently attended events featuring various interviewees to observe them firsthand as part of his interview research.

He acknowledged that this practice had drawn criticism, saying he fully understood the concerns and believed the criticism was justified.

Apologizing for the impact the controversy had on others, Tsai said: “The misunderstandings this has caused have put my collaborators and those who once supported me in a difficult position, and I am deeply sorry.”