A history of Lo Ta-yu’s conflicting positions

Singer Lo Ta-yu (羅大佑) on Tuesday blamed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government for what he described as a decline in Taiwan’s cultural standards. In an interview with UFO Radio’s Tang Hsiang-lung (唐湘龍), Lo singled out Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) and music critic, DJ and author Ma Shih-fang (馬世芳), questioning the shifting political positions of certain cultural figures.

The influential rock singer went even further when discussing the upcoming local elections, bluntly declaring that waishengren (外省人) — a term referring to people who fled to Taiwan with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in 1949 after its defeat in the Chinese Civil War — were being bullied.

Over his more than 50 years as a composer and singer, Lo has often positioned himself in opposition to those in power, and as a staunch opponent of one-party rule. From his rise to prominence during the KMT’s authoritarian rule to Taiwan’s democratization, his statements and songs have maintained a sharp critical voice toward those in positions of power.

In the late 1980s, around the lifting of martial law, Lo frequently used his music to satirize the KMT’s rule and manipulation of the media. He expressed support for People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), who narrowly lost the 2000 presidential election as an independent candidate.

From 2000 to 2016, Lo sharply criticized the pan-green camp. He was frequently critical of the policy positions of former presidents Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) with regard to Taiwanese independence.

In 2006 — when the Chen administration became embroiled in a series of corruption scandals — Lo took the stage in support of the “red shirts” movement led by former Democratic Progressive Party chairman and democracy activist Shih Ming-teh (施明德).

Lo has also expressed strong opposition to authoritarianism, particularly in the context of cross-strait relations, Hong Kong and China.

His 1989 album Lover/Comrade (愛人同志), which was released in Hong Kong, included The Song of the Dwarf (侏儒之歌). The song’s lyrics have been widely interpreted as a satire of Beijing’s crackdown during the Tiananmen Square Massacre and the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarian rule.

Lo has tended to align with Hong Kong’s democracy movements and has supported campaigns across the Chinese-speaking world. His remarks have consequently drawn criticism from Chinese authorities.

However, in the past few years, Lo has increasingly and sharply criticized the DPP government, with his political positions appearing to lean quite explicitly toward the pan-blue camp.

During last year’s mass recall campaign, Lo in a radio interview mocked the effort as shameless, likening it to a “great purge,” urging voters to ensure that the campaign would end in spectacular failure.

Lo has clearly become blind to the reality that many citizens joined forces to support the mass recall campaign because they believed the opposition parties’ actions were jeopardizing the nation’s future. Since the mass recall campaign’s failure, opposition parties have only grown more brazen, undermining the Constitution, disrupting governance, blocking budgets and acting with impunity.

Lo has lost his way, and can no longer distinguish between right and wrong.