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Despite the current state of troubled relations between Beijing and Taipei, the popularity of a drama of the Chinese period among viewers and Taiwanese Internet testifies the "shared culture" of people living on both sides of the Taiwan Strait , at least official based on the continent.
Since its premiere on July 19, more than 100 million people in Taiwan have watched The history of Yanxi Palace – which tells the story of a group of concubines of the Chinese Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century, according to figures from the online broadcast platform iQiyi.
Concubines launched on the back attract 530 million viewers
At a press conference on Wednesday, Taiwan Affairs Bureau spokesman An Fengshan said, "People on both sides of the strait are originally a family and Chinese culture is their common spiritual homeland.
Speaking less than two weeks after Beijing accused Taiwan of blackmails students spying for the autarkic island, An said such a link could not be broken by any "activity of desiccation on the island, "referring to those who consider Taiwan independent country, reported Guancha.cn information portal.
Beijing considers it a rebellious province waiting for reunification, by force if necessary.
The success of the drama series is unmistakable: 530 million people in mainland China have watched the 12th of August – which covers 70 episodes and has been widely praised for the quality of its costumes and sets.
"Whether I look left or right, I always see someone watching The history of Yanxi PalaceWrote one person on a Taiwanese theater forum. "People are watching it on the Taipei MRT [subway] and when walking, there is no place where they do not look at it.
Another fan, Fang Hsu from Yunlin County in Taiwan, wrote in a Facebook group composed mainly of Taiwanese and Hong Kong fans: "After finishing the series, I felt completely empty. I thought I would never see [the characters] again, and I suddenly started crying.
Beijing accuses Taiwan of blackmail students to spy for the autonomous island
Taiwanese journalist and commentator William Yang felt that rave reviews had less to do with people's feelings about a common culture and more about it. to be a very good story.
"Shows like this are popular here just because of the dramatic scenario and the style of play," he said. "It's a lot less about the actual cultural relevance for the Taiwanese audience."
Most of the online discussions around these dramas were almost exclusively about their entertainment value, he said.
"You rarely see online discussions that mention how [people] I think the show is culturally applicable … they focus on action styles and personalities.
Beijing says Taiwan to stop all espionage and "sabotage" in mainland China
In the 1980s, Taiwanese TV series became big hits in mainland China, but in recent years, the flow has been the other way, with shows like Nirvana on fire in 2015 and The empresses of the palace as of 2012 both are proving popular in Taiwan.
Beijing's political and diplomatic pressure on Taiwan has intensified since the independence of independence president Tsai Ing-wen in 2016.
The measures included persuading foreign countries to abandon their official relations with the Taiwanese government in favor of recognizing Beijing and forcing international airlines to refrain from referring to Taiwan as a separate country on their websites. .
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