TAIPEI (TVBS News)—Taiwanese actor Wu Kang-ren (吳慷仁) will not attend the 59th Golden Bell Awards (金鐘獎) ceremony, scheduled for Oct. 18 and 19, TVBS News confirmed on Wednesday (Oct. 16). Wu received a nomination for Best Actor for his role in the TVBS original series "Living" (有生之年).
Earlier, SET TV (三立電視) announced that Wu would walk the red carpet alongside producer Ruby Lin (林心如) and actors Hsieh Chan-jung (謝展榮), Beatrice Fang (方志友), and Joseph Cheng (鄭元暢). However, the production team revealed, "He is unable to attend the Oct. 19 ceremony due to work commitments." SET TV responded to TVBS News, expressing respect for the nominees' decisions.
Wu, who recently signed with Chinese agency Easy Entertainment (壹心娛樂), has been increasingly active in China. He recently participated in the "In Moments Film Festival" (IM兩岸青年影展) in Fujian's Pingtan County (福建平潭).
Wu's decision to focus on his career in China and celebrate China's National Day on Weibo has sparked controversy among the public.