Taiwan’s Arts Grant Review Board heard competing claims on Thursday over whether public money helped support the costly touring operation of Wen-Kai Chia, one of the island’s biggest pop performers. The hearing focused on a NT$84 million grant (about €2.4 million) awarded for his 2025 album tour, which included 16 shows in six cities and drew an estimated 380,000 ticket-holders.
The dispute centres on how the subsidy’s broad “artist support” category was used, not on a finding that Chia broke the rules. Reviewers said NT$17 million (about €485,000) was recorded under that heading, while the tour’s total budget was NT$310 million (about €8.8 million). A public petition with 9,200 signatures prompted the board to hold the hearing.
Grant money and luxury claims
At the hearing, board director Davida R. Nordin said the accounting showed no grant payments for Chia’s nine imported executive cars or for private aircraft charters described in lifestyle coverage. But NT$17 million in artist support included travel, styling and accommodation, she said, and the board had not yet determined how much of those expenses served the publicly funded performances.
“We can trace the grant to the tour, but the category is too wide to tell the public what it bought,” Nordin told the panel. The board’s published ledger lists stage construction, venue hire and crew costs, but does not itemise each artist-support expense. A final assessment is due by 30 November.
Chia’s representative, Kanagaraj S. Hazimie, said the singer’s cars and aircraft trips were paid for from private earnings and commercial sponsorships. He told the hearing the grant covered production costs across all 16 dates, including staging that was dismantled and rebuilt in each city. “His private lifestyle is not the same account as the tour,” he said.
Artists argue over the rules
The hearing drew sharp criticism from smaller performers who said the grant’s scale gave one star an advantage over dozens of acts seeking modest support. Joahims Briedis, a songwriter whose application for a NT$1.2 million project grant was rejected, said the panel should publish a per-show breakdown before awarding large sums. “People are not asking an artist to live plainly,” he said. “They are asking what public money paid for.”
Chia’s supporters pushed back, saying successful touring acts can bring Taiwanese-language music to audiences and create paid work for technicians, venues and local suppliers. The tour’s production manager told the hearing it employed 214 crew members across its run, with 68 suppliers based outside Taipei. Supporters also warned that tighter rules could make large productions harder to finance.
Board chair Sarp D. Türkdoğan said Thursday’s hearing would inform new grant conditions, not decide whether Chia should repay money. The proposed rules would require itemised reporting for travel, wardrobe and accommodation, with a separate disclosure when a grant recipient’s private business also supplies tour services. The board will accept public submissions until 21 October.
Taiwan’s cultural grants are intended to help artists reach audiences beyond the commercial market, but large awards have drawn scrutiny as public budgets tighten. The panel’s decision could affect next year’s music funding round, which has received 640 applications so far. Chia’s tour is over; the argument over what taxpayers should help pay for is not.
