Who Knows Taiwan?

Taiwanese YouTuber Chung Ming-hsuan (鍾明軒) sparked controversy in late March 2025 after suggesting on a podcast that “nobody knows Taiwan” abroad and that he therefore must resort to explaining himself through “Chinese culture” (中華文化) to allow foreigners to relate. Given the social, political — and often highly personal — debates in Taiwan about identity vis-à-vis a China that aggressively asserts its sovereignty over the island, Chung’s comments naturally reverberated. Fellow content creator Ray Du (阿滴) countered on Threads that 80 percent of foreigners he met when traveling overseas recognized Taiwan and understood when he identified himself as Taiwanese. This led to accusations that Du was “bullying” Chung, who claimed his words were taken out of context. With the usual appetite for drama, Taiwanese media waded in, unpacking the raucous back and forth.

Ceylon (錫蘭), a Belgian-Chinese YouTuber popular in Taiwan, initially criticized Du but later apologized after speaking with him directly about the misunderstanding. Those who can stomach rapid-fire influencer commentary can try out the related video below from another YouTuber, History Bro (歷史哥).