If you’ve just tuned in, Tanya Chua was actually nominated in the 13th Chinese Music Awards, held last night in Shanghai, for the Best Female Singer (Hong Kong + Taiwan) category. She was vying for the awards along with Jolin Tsai, Penny Dai, Ah Mei and Fish Leong. At the end of the night, Ah Mei emerged the winner. I feel good for Ah Mei especially after all the drama she previously went through with the Chinese government. Lee-Hom Wong was the biggest winner of the night, picking up three awards.

But am I sad? No, and here’s why. Any awards show with the audacity to segregate all categories by geography (meaning that there’s always one category for mainland China, and the same category for Hong Kong + Taiwan) doesn’t deserve my respect. It’s sad to see China having to resort to such protectionist actions to boost their artists. At least have the courage to create an overall category for mandarin singers! I wouldn’t be proud to win such an award, it just smells fishy to begin with!