The most popular artist in Taiwan these days is Huang Zijiao.
In April 2024, it was reported that he purchased sexual images of children from illegal candid photography websites. Later, Taiwanese media reported that after Huang Zijiao was accused by two women of inducing nude photos, prosecutors discovered during a search that he had hundreds of pornographic videos, including underage female victims. Later, the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office gave Huang Zijiao deferred prosecution for violating the "Child and Juvenile Sexual Exploitation Prevention Ordinance".
Huang Zijiao himself posted an apology on social media and hoped that the public would give him a chance to start a new life.
And Huang Zijiao's wife Meng Gengru issued an article saying: "Mr. Huang did not understand the source of the vendor's video, and ignored the horrifying criminal issues behind the website." It seems that Huang Zijiao just made an unintentional mistake, and Taiwan Netizens spoke out for Huang Zijiao, saying that he only bought it to watch and did not sell it.
Public opinion did not stop there, so Meng Gengru closed her social platform account.
At this time, Huang Zijiao and his wife may not have realized that the public opinion environment they faced was completely different from the one they faced when the sexual harassment scandal was revealed in June last year. This time, it is no longer the wife's support, but the couple's joint efforts. Get through the hard times.
Let’s sort out the events first.
The indecent video case that broke out this time can be regarded as a follow-up to the Huang Zijiao sexual harassment incident in June last year. In June 2023, a Taiwanese Internet celebrity living in France accused a male host on social media of forcibly kissing and taking private photos of underage girls when she was 17 years old. Later, it was discovered that this person was Huang Zijiao, and only some Internet celebrities came forward. Testifying against him caused a huge public outcry at the time.
However, Huang Zijiao successfully avoided danger at the time and was not expelled from the entertainment industry.
He first made a drunken video and live broadcast to make more revelations. He recounted his past sufferings and brought in people he was familiar with and unfamiliar with in the Taiwanese entertainment industry. He said that he was bullied by seniors, and also revealed the harm done to him by his older brothers.
Later, there was news of self-harm and he was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. His wife appeared at this time and said that the two of them would "face it together and make up for the mistakes they had made."
Huang Zijiao’s work partners, although they could not say they supported him, they all spoke secretly for him. Firstly, I felt that Huang Zijiao had worked very hard for so many years. Secondly, based on the principle that everyone makes mistakes, I felt that he should be given a chance to change his ways..
Therefore, amidst the overwhelming public opinion trend in June last year, although the cooperation projects related to Huang Zijiao were stopped, and the product advertisements he endorsed were all removed from the shelves, this person has not truly left Taiwan’s entertainment industry. , many stars in the entertainment industry have not really "cut their seats" with him.
So, why is this happening?
The superficial reason is that Huang Zijiao has a very good image on the stage. He has been developing in the entertainment industry for many years. His mentor is the famous Taiwanese host Zhang Xiaoyan, which shows that he also has his own faction to maintain. He will not do evil at any time, and will even support newcomers in the entertainment industry when given the opportunity. This has created a very positive screen image for him and also given Huang Zijiao many supportive voices in the industry.
In fact, even after the Huang Zijiao sexual harassment incident broke out in June 23, people who supported him still existed. Their view is that people will make mistakes, and they should give people a chance to correct themselves.
But there are some mistakes, and there is no chance to correct them. Because every time you make a mistake, you are adding weight to your own evil.
In fact, judging from the time, Huang Zijiao did not forget to "buy movies" while he was hospitalized for self-inflicted injuries.
The rumor that Huang Zijiao purchased sexual images of minors from an illegal secret camera website was discovered by the prosecutor after the scandal broke out in June last year.
According to police investigations, while Huang Zijiao was being detained, hundreds of indecent images of women, including 7 minors, were found on his personal hard drive. In addition, Huang Zijiao himself admitted that he had purchased these videos from candid photography forums in the past six years.
In other words, sexual harassment of minors is not the only evil thing Huang Zijiao has done in reality.His status as a so-called "senior in the entertainment industry" has become his best "protective umbrella" for deceiving minors. One of Huang Zijiao's victims came forward to reveal that he was invited to Huang Zijiao's home to take pictures in a bikini, and one of the victims was only 14 years old at the time.
The method Huang Zijiao used was that when one of them accompanied Xue Chaixing to participate in the filming of the show, he chatted with her during the break and mentioned that he was looking for graphic models for the first issue of a girl magazine. Later, Huang Zijiao asked them to meet in the studio, but the girl After arriving, I discovered that the so-called "studio" was Huang Zijiao's residence. Huang Zijiao also asked them to try on swimsuits, including swimsuits with very little fabric.
Then Taiwanese paparazzi Ge Siqi also broke the news on the show that in fact, he had received a complaint against Huang Zijiao more than ten years ago.
Until now, he still called Huang Zijiao "Brother Jiao".
This incident also completely tore off the hypocrisy of "giving him another chance" by colleagues in the entertainment industry. Except for Huang Zijiao's wife Meng Gengru who still wants to advance and retreat with her husband, other artists are cutting ties with him.
Huang Zijiao’s master Zhang Xiaoyan mentioned earlier was attacked by netizens because of Huang Zijiao’s scandal, and she was also hit hard.
Others discovered that Huang Zijiao was already on the show, interlocking with a girl in front of Zhang Xiaoyan. At that time, Zhang Xiaoyan directly stopped him, wondering whether she had known about it for a long time.
Later, Zhang Xiaoyan expressed regret for introducing Meng Gengru to Huang Zijiao, and said, "I don't know many things" and completely distanced herself from the relationship.
There are many people who are actually cutting ties with Huang Zijiao on the pretext of feeling sorry for Zhang Xiaoyan; there are also some artists who use their voice to call for legislative reform to protect the privacy and security of minors. Of course, there are also voices publicly condemning Huang Zijiao.
Compared with the ambiguous attitude displayed by Taiwanese artists collectively in June last year, the public attack by artists today is very revealing. Even Huang Zijiao's disciples came out to criticize him, obviously knowing that this matter could not just be settled with an ambiguous attitude.
Until this time, the general attitude towards Huang Zijiao in Taiwan’s entertainment industry has become - Huang Zijiao is difficult to turn over and is socially dead.
But the most important question to ask is, why did Huang Zijiao not "socially die" until 2024, when the minor video was exposed, even though the sexual harassment incident was exposed in 23 years?
This thing is simple to say. It is not difficult to see that, unlike the mainland entertainment industry, the Taiwanese entertainment industry has a very strong circle culture. Who is whose "big brother", who is who's "little brother", and who is brought out by whom? You can follow the picture to find out who was brought on the show by whom. It does not represent the person's ability, but the person's luck. Okay, I’ve got a good big brother.
At the same time, Taiwan's entertainment industry has clear hierarchies and family antagonisms. As mentioned earlier, Huang Zijiao’s master is Zhang Xiaoyan, and he, Zeng Baoyi, Tao Jingying, etc. all belong to the Xiaoyan family. Huang Zijiao won the Golden Bell Award, and the media headlines were "The Xiaoyan Family is in Good Scenery".
Earlier, a Taiwanese writer broke the news, saying that Zhang Xiaoyan was born as a child star and had been in the entertainment industry for 70 years. Huang Zijiao could deceive reporters and media, but he could not deceive Zhang Xiaoyan at all. But the main thing is the close mentoring relationship between him and Zhang Xiaoyan. In the early "family struggle" between Zhang Xiaoyan and Wu Zongxian, Huang Zijiao was pushed out as a shield. Their mentoring relationship is indeed very deep.
Taiwan’s media and artists are interdependent. Big brothers and sisters in the entertainment industry also have good relations with the media.
When a "little brother" makes a mistake, the media will not only question the "little brother", but also his master, seniors, and classmates. At this time, the words of this senior or other colleagues can determine this person's future to a certain extent. If the eldest brother and eldest sister help to say a few good words in front of the media, then this person will basically have less work, but at least he will not disappear in front of the public, and the media will "save a little less respect" for him.
For example, when Huang Zijiao's sexual harassment scandal broke out in June last year, he recorded a video to expose the filthiness of Taiwan's entertainment industry, and directly attacked Wu Zongxian for his chaotic relationship between men and women and for not repaying the money he borrowed. Wu Zongxian did not respond much at the time. But when he was on the show in January this year, he revealed that Huang Zijiao had taken indecent photos of girls, but the news was directly silenced by the TV station.
This seems difficult for mainland audiences to understand. After all, the media should only focus on traffic. Huang Zijiao’s sexual behavior has long been precedented. Why did the TV station silence it? It can be seen that at that time, the TV station still intended to reduce the controversy over Huang Zijiao.
But this time, the Huang Zijiao incident intensified, and it really affected Zhang Xiaoyan. Someone immediately stood up and said that Huang Zijiao "should take responsibility for himself instead."
Without each other’s help, Huang Zijiao’s wave of “social death” will naturally come more violently. The earlier silences have been released, and the past events have been mentioned again by countless people. Huang Zijiao finally faced the trial for his actions.
However, in the circle culture of Taiwan's entertainment industry, even if an artist publicly condemns it, the first reaction of people in the industry is not positive. For example, when an actress condemned Huang Zijiao after the incident was exposed, a Taiwanese agent immediately jumped out and said that she didn't know why she put the matter on the table, thinking that she might be "hyping it up."
But maybe, only if there are more voices of "hype" in this way can the perpetrators get the punishment they deserve.
