EYECTV delivers satirical report enlightening US president on acceptable names for coronavirus

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/03/23
By: Eric Stone, Taiwan News, Contributing Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In response to Trump calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus,” a Taiwanese spoof news YouTube channel has urged the U.S. to “stop stigmatizing China” and instead call the coronavirus the “fake China virus,” the “bandit virus,” or the “Xi Winnie virus.”

On March 20, 2020, Eye Central Television (EYECTV) responded to Trump’s use of the term “Chinese virus” with tongue-in-cheek condemnation: “This is unacceptable; this virus has nothing to do with the Republic of China (ROC).”

This satirical take is rooted in the program’s premise of a Nationalist Party (KMT) state media organization obsessed with reclaiming Mainland China from the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC), targeted at an audience that identifies as Taiwanese and resents being labeled as Chinese nationals.

Boasting over 800,000 subscribers, EYECTV is a parody of CCTV (China Central Television), and its hosts deliver their satirical reports in sharp, monotone Mandarin, with the female half of the duo, Milia Eye, sporting a lofty, heavily hairsprayed do reminiscent of state media anchors of the 80s, around the end of Taiwan’s martial law period.    [FULL  STORY]