Cai Kangyong appeared on Wang Weizhong's exclusive interview show, openly admitting that his commercial activities in mainland China were forced to halt and resulted in massive losses, while expressing that he is doing fine and doesn't care about his reputation.
At a regular press conference, State Council Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua delivered remarks regarding Kevin Tsai's statement and the stance of figures in the entertainment industry, emphasizing opposition to Taiwan independence and demanding that Taiwanese entertainers act with dignity and uprightness.
On October 25, Kevin Tsai responded on Weibo to the recent controversy sparked by his attendance at a Shen Boyang event, saying that he has always hoped for friendly relations across the Taiwan Strait and has never supported Taiwan independence, and that he merely went to the event venue to experience and observe it. He said he understands the criticism and apologized to the collaborating parties.
On October 25, Kevin Tsai stated on Weibo that he had never supported Taiwan independence, thanked his mainland supporters, and bid them farewell, subsequently losing contact with his mainland fans.
According to a post by X user @QuanLujun, well-known Taiwanese host Kevin Tsai has deleted the contact information of his mainland agent, formally bidding farewell to the mainland market. The poster praised this move, saying that although he has lost the mainland market, he has won people's hearts.
On October 14, China Literature and Art Net, part of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles system, published a commentary rejecting Kevin Tsai's explanation that he had just come "to see for myself" when attending Puma Shen's campaign event, saying there is no middle ground in the face of major issues of principle, demanding that literary and art workers first take a firm Chinese stance, and listing Nicky Wu as a positive contrast.
Around October 14, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua responded to Kevin Tsai's attendance at Puma Shen's campaign event, saying that the legitimate freedom of expression of Taiwan compatriots is protected, but stressing that there is no room for ambiguity on matters of right and wrong, and warning that no one can reap the benefits of the mainland while colluding with “Taiwan independence” forces.
On October 10, the WeChat public account "Zhejiang Xuanchuan," run by the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee's Publicity Department, published an article criticizing Kevin Tsai for staying silent and avoiding taking a stand when the public needs one, saying that a person's works cannot be separated from their character, and stated in the comments section that it wanted to warn a whole crowd of fence-sitters that no ambiguity is tolerated on the question of where one stands.
After Kevin Tsai was publicly called out by state media, his social media account with over 36 million followers was emptied and all of his posts were deleted. The account's IP location showed Japan, and he himself issued no statement. Commentators in Taiwan criticized him for playing both sides of the strait to reap profits.
At 20:25 on October 7, the topic "Numerous Taiwan artists clearly state the one-China position" ranked 11th on Weibo's overall chart. State media outlet Southern Daily posted a compilation video, using Wu Qilong's "even if it doesn't make money, this is still my position" as a hook, and listed records of artists such as Angela Zhang and Ouyang Nana reposting CCTV's "Taiwan will surely return" poster; the Wenling City Media Convergence Center said that identifying with one China "is not a multiple-choice question, but a compulsory one."
In early October 2026, Kevin Tsai sparked condemnation from mainland media and netizens after publicly standing up for an individual officially designated by Beijing authorities as a diehard 'Taiwan independence' element, prompting a concentrated dredging up of his past money-making activities on the mainland and old news about him.
After the controversy erupted, several of Tsai Kang-yong's podcasts and interview works were successively taken down, his personal homepage retained only a small amount of promotional content, his Weibo followers dropped by nearly 10,000 in a short time, and a large number of netizens flooded the comment section to express dissatisfaction, while he himself remained silent.
After the incident fermented, all content on Kevin Tsai's Weibo account, which he had operated for over a decade, was wiped overnight, his following count reset to zero, and his profile picture changed to the default.
The official "Beijing Time" account of Beijing Radio and Television Station published an article accusing Taiwanese star Kevin Tsai of backing Puma Shen, calling on partner businesses to proactively conduct self-checks and listing pro-independence artists.
On October 5, after Kevin Tsai's appearance at Puma Shen's campaign headquarters triggered a mainland ban controversy, Kuomintang Taipei mayoral candidate Chiang Wan-an publicly invited Kevin Tsai on the morning to attend his campaign headquarters launch event, promising to arrange seats in the rock zone, and called on the mainland to respect Taiwan's free and democratic way of life.