Taiwanese singer Lee-hom Wang was said to be down with gastritis when he was absent for the press conference to campaign against payola in the Taiwan music industry on Jan 8. He later clarified his stand over the payola saga in person, taking a neutral stand on the issue and also tactfully denied that he was absent because of gastritis. Wang was earlier reported to have criticized that the album of fellow Taiwanese singer, Show Luo, only managed to top the music charts because his record company, Gold Typhoon Entertainment, had engaged in acts of payola, and also advised the public against the credibility of those charts. Sony Music held a press conference last Thursday, to campaign against payola, in the name of Wang, with him absent from the event. Wang subsequently responded to the "payola saga" in person on Jan 13, expressing a total switch from the "criticisms" as was reported previously. "I have no wish in being part of these allegations and accusations. I wish to remain neutral in this issue," he said. "I just want to be a musician; music is my forte. I'm not a businessman. Record companies should be in the most appropriate position to fight against this issue," he added. Wang also denied to have called for the press conference which was held on Thursday. "I did not call for the event. I am not the lead in the press conference; and it is not possible for me to do these alone anyway. My record company has expressed hopes that I could attend, but I was unaware of that happening," he explained. What was a reason seemingly became an excuse when Wang hesitated in response to the "gastritis" reason his record company gave for his absence. "Hmmm I did catch a cold recently," he told reporters. Wang said he had not contacted Jay Chou prior to or after the press conference. Apparently, Chou was said to be at the press conference in support of Wang's call for the cause against payola. "If Jay was there to support me, I really got to thank him. We've always been supporting each other," he said. With regards to this, spokesperson at Chou's company, JVR Music, said, "Our attendance at the press conference is not because we are showing support for anyone. We are supporting the cause of the event." Wang added that having been in the industry for many years, he has always wished for it to be "healthy". "The Taiwan music industry is already weakening. Please do not further destroy it. This is also an environmental act," he expressed his plead. With regards to record companies which may be resorting to payola as publicity means, Wang declined to comment but clarified that he was by no means criticizing Luo, and also added that the latter is a "hardworking artiste". Source: Yahoo News SG
