For the hundreds of thousands of fans around the world who watched this season finale of the hit reality show “RuPaul's Drag Race,” one contestant's final plea for victory wasn't particularly memorable.
“It would mean a lot to be the first queen from East Asia to win the crown and to be able to represent my country,” said the Taiwanese drag queen known as Nymphia Wind, who minutes later fulfilled her wish.
It was a single word in that phrase – “country” – that became a source of delight in Taiwan.
In deference to China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, all but a handful of countries refuse to recognize the island democracy as a sovereign nation. But for many who live there, it was a proud moment to hear one of their own refer to Taiwan as a country in its own right to a global audience.
Plane Jane, from left, Sapphira Cristal, Nymphia Wind and Jimbo speak on stage at the RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 finale screening event.
(Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
Ko Ting-Hsun, who watched last month's final at home, began crying as Nymphia Wind celebrated her victory.
“Many people can understand that their own identity as Taiwanese can be diminished by stronger and bigger powers,” said Ko, 29. “This is one of the few times Taiwan can be represented on the international stage so blatantly.”
Ko also performs as a drag queen, using the name Beauxba Tea.
Drag is a thriving art form in Taiwan that has helped enhance its reputation as an open and tolerant society, markedly different from mainland China, where the government has shut down LGBTQ+ support groups.
“The contrast with Taiwan has become greater and greater,” said John Givens, an associate professor in the international studies department at Spelman College in Atlanta. “They're increasingly saying, 'Hey, we're this place where LGBTQ rights are respected.' “China has been turning the knob in the opposite direction.”
The latest season of “RuPaul's Drag Race” gave Taiwan a huge stage to showcase its values and culture.
Throughout the season, Nymphia Wind embraced her Taiwanese heritage with costumes that included an elaborate magpie headdress (the national bird) and a balloon-filled homage to the iconic Taiwanese drink boba tea.
The artist's real name is Leo Tsao. The 28-year-old fashion designer was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Hong Kong and Taiwan, joining the drag scene there in 2018 before moving to New York four years later.
He never directly mentioned China during his time on the reality show. She didn't have to do it.
His victory was “a masterstroke of nation-building, soft power and cultural diplomacy,” wrote Kazimier Lim, a public policy consultant interested in LGBTQ+ issues, in a commentary for the Lowy Institute, a think tank in Sydney.
Lim suggested his stardom could endear Taiwan to younger generations of Americans, at a time when the island of 23 million people is turning to the United States for more support as China has threatened to take it over. by force if necessary.
“This empathy is not trivial,” he wrote. “It represents a powerful form of soft power that Taiwan will leverage in the run-up to the war.”
The topic is so sensitive that Paramount, which distributes the show, initially said it would make Nymphia Wind available for an interview with The Times only if the journalist agreed not to ask her about geopolitics. After the Times refused to make such an agreement, the company relented.
Nymphia Wind performs during the RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 finale screening event in New York City.
(Santiago Felipe/Getty Images)
The artist suggested that she was just stating the obvious when she spoke about Taiwan on the show and had little to add about the geopolitical implications of her comments.
“To me, Taiwan is just a country,” he said. “If people think otherwise or don't know that Taiwan is a country, then it's really because of their educational level. There’s a lot you can do, but you can always try to improve situational awareness.”
Younger generations, in particular, increasingly consider themselves exclusively Taiwanese, even as they understand that they live in the shadow of mainland China.
“Taiwan is a small country and doesn't have much energy per se,” Nymphia Wind said. “Which is a little sad, but this is the situation. You have to play with the cards you are dealt, intelligently.”
He said he hopes to produce more drag shows in Taiwan that highlight the island's unique features, such as temple fairs, night markets and betel nut girls, who dress up to sell the chewy fruit stimulant at street stalls.
He is also expected to perform as part of a Taiwanese cultural program at this summer's Paris Olympics.
“She's the global phenomenon right now and she represents Taiwan,” said Benson Hu, 31, who has been doing drag in Taiwan for three years as Sandra Hoe. “That's the kind of international exposure this country needs.”
After the season finale of “RuPaul's Drag Race,” Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took to social media to congratulate the winner: “Taiwan thanks you for living without fear.”
President-elect William Lai, who will take office on May 20, also publicly congratulated her.
In China, there was little reaction to his victory. The reality show is not available to watch there.
Chinese officials, often quick to condemn any depiction of Taiwan as a country, remained silent, choosing not to draw attention to a spectacle few had seen. Discussion was also sparse on Chinese social media, where frank discussion of LGBTQ+ issues can get accounts flagged or blocked.
Some users on the Chinese Twitter-like platform Weibo criticized Nymphia Wind, without naming the drag queen, as a Taiwanese separatist. But the newly crowned queen also attracted fans, despite limited access to the series on the continent.
“The first Asian thoroughbred champion!” said one user. “I recommend everyone to go watch the full show.”
Special correspondent Xin-yun Wu in Taipei contributed to this report.
