By Sehr Khosla
Actor Zhang Linghe’s opening speech at the 18th Straits Forum caught widespread attention with his call for improved cross-strait exchanges.
Quanhua Temple in Miaoli County, Taiwan. Uwe Aranas. CC BY-SA 3.0.
For most actors, a speech at a cultural forum is a publicity appearance. For Chinese actor Zhang Linghe, it was a chance to ignite conversation about the increasingly blurred line between culture and politics across the Taiwan Strait.
Zhang, star of the Chinese drama “Pursuit of Jade,” opened a speech at the 18th Straits Forum in Xiamen with a greeting in Taiwanese Minnan, leaving Taiwanese officials and commentators questioning whether one of the island's most popular Chinese celebrities had become part of Beijing’s political messaging.
Here, the controversy was more about where Zhang spoke than what he said. The Straits Forum is an annual event organized by the Chinese government to promote cultural, economic and social exchanges between China and Taiwan. Beijing presents the forum as a platform for dialogue, though Taiwan’s government suggests that it cultivates support for closer ties with China and advances Beijing’s reunification agenda.
In his remarks, Zhang encouraged cultural exchanges and invited Taiwanese youths to visit mainland China, transforming the speech into a political flash point. “The power of culture can always transcend mountains and seas, connecting the hearts of compatriots on both sides (of the strait),” he said.
For supporters, the speech was a reminder that culture can build connections even when politics remain contentious. For critics, it illustrated celebrity influence among broader political goals.
“Originally, Zhang Linghe was simply an artiste, but after being manipulated and used by (China’s) Taiwan Affairs Office, he has been tainted with political overtones,” Liang Wen-chieh, the deputy minister of the Mainland Affairs Council in Taiwan, told The Straits Times.
The dispute highlights a broader challenge facing Taiwan: what happens when entertainment, identity and geopolitics become impossible to separate.
Chen Shih-min, a political scientist at National Taiwan University, highlighted that Taiwanese audiences can distinguish between cultural consumption and political allegiance. “Taiwanese can admire him as an actor, but that would be the same as them admiring actors from South Korean or Japanese dramas,” he commented. “Would this one person change how they feel about their identity and make Taiwanese people want to be governed by China? It’s very unlikely.”
Polling appears to support the assessment, as surveys show strong support for maintaining Taiwan’s current political status rather than moving toward unification. Yet experts say Beijing may not be trying to change political attitudes overnight, with celebrity appearances softening perceptions and generating attention in ways that politicians cannot.
“His speech won’t make Taiwanese view China as favourable overnight, but it could make China appear slightly less hostile,” said James Yifan Chen, an assistant professor in Tamkang University’s Department of Diplomacy and International Relations.
As relations between Beijing and Taipei grow tense, cultural exchanges become political battlegrounds. A speech that was once considered celebrity promotion is now interpreted through the lens of sovereignty and influence. For Taiwan, the question is no longer whether culture and politics intersect, but whether they can be separated at all.
Sehr Khosla
Sehr is a student at Georgetown University studying Classics and Government with a minor in Journalism. In the future, she hopes to combine her passion for social justice with communications to advocate for change. Outside of writing, she enjoys travelling and reading murder mysteries.