New | Taiwan’s teen pop star Chou Tzu-yu returns for high school test after flag-waving controversy
16-year-old singer in South Korean girl group Twice tries to sneak into test centre, but emerges in the afternoon to thank her supporters
The Taiwanese teenage pop star who stirred up a political firestorm on the eve of the island’s presidential election in January, appeared in southern Taiwan on Sunday as she sat a scholastic aptitude test in her hometown Tainan.
Wearing a dark surgical mask and a grey pullover, Chou Tzu-yu, 16, a member of South Korean girl group Twice, was led by nine workers from her company, including three bodyguards.
They had to push their way into the test centre as scores of fans and journalists blocked the singer’s way to the test, local television reported.
The bodyguards had at first tried to sneak Chou, who returned to Taiwan on Saturday for the test, into the centre through a side entrance. But journalists outsmarted them by waiting at various entrances before her arrival early in the morning, the reports said.
WATCH: Chou Tzu-yu thanks her supporters after her test
Chou did not say anything as she hurried into the centre where she was tested on five subjects including Chinese literature and English.
If she passes the test, Chou will be able to use her score to apply to study in a senior high school in Korea. She did not finish junior high school in Taiwan when she was recruited by her South Korean company, JYP Entertainment, two years ago.
Dozens of fans, many holding placards showing their support for her, rallied outside the centre, trying to catch a glimpse of the teenage pop star.
Chou showed up only after she finished the test at 3pm.
“Thank you. You all have had a long day,” a smiling Chou was quoted by Taiwan Television Enterprise as saying as she stepped out of the test centre without her mask.
But on Saturday when she arrived in Taiwan, Chou had said “I wish uncle Huang An a speedy recovery” when she was asked about Huang, who recently suffered a heart attack.
Chou found herself mired in controversy in January after Huang accused her of supporting Taiwan independence.
Huang backed up his allegations by pointing to a segment on a South Korean TV programme aired last year that showed Chou waving a flag of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official title.
Beijing considers Taiwan a Chinese province awaiting reunification with the mainland, by force if necessary, and Huang is known for his frequent accusations levelled against his fellow Taiwanese show business people of advocating Taiwan independence.
Huang’s remarks led Chinese netizens to launch a massive online attack against Chou. To smooth things over, the teen star’s company later asked her to apologise for the deed.
Chou’s apology video, showing her bowing and saying sorry for hurting the feelings of the Chinese, was repeatedly aired on Taiwanese TV on the eve of their presidential election, sparking outrage among many voters.
WATCH: Chou Tzu-yu’s public apology for waving Taiwan’s national flag on TV
Some election experts later said that the apology video prompted many voters – who at first did not intend to vote – to cast their ballots for Tsai Ing-wen and her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.
The incident helped Tsai win crushing victories in both the presidential and parliamentary races over the ruling Beijing-friendly Kuomintang.
Angry Taiwanese also heaped scorn on Huang for “betraying the Taiwanese people” and threatened to “throw him out” if he returned to Taiwan.
Huang reportedly planned to return to the island over the Lunar New Year holiday in February but later postponed his visit. He eventually returned to Taipei on March 11, when he was flown in from Beijing on an air ambulance for suffering a heart attack.
Many Taiwanese legislators asked that the National Health Insurance reject Huang's medical claim for more than NT$800,000 (HK$192,000) for heart surgery, saying that people like him should be deprived of medical benefits for hurting Taiwan.
Huang is still recuperating in Taiwan after his operation, the Central News Agency reported on Sunday.
Chou will return to Seoul on Monday.
