A spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council refuted a remark by a Taiwan politician about a popular singing contest on Wednesday.

The mainland-produced singing contest I Am A Singer has become immensely popular in Taiwan, but Su Tseng-chang, chairman of Taiwan’s opposition DPP, claimed on April 14 that it was an attempt by the mainland to penetrate Taiwan and that the public in Taiwan should remain alert toward its influence.

Fan Liqing, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said: “The program is about stars to its fans and audience ratings to the media, but it’s about politics to certain political figures. We hope that related Democratic Progressive Party officials can curb their hostility toward the mainland and refrain from standing in the way of cross-Straits cultural exchanges.”

Fan made the remarks responding to a question at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

Of the seven groups who competed in the final of the contest, presented by Hunan Satellite TV, four were from Taiwan.