The Taiwanese Counterpart To Hong Kong's Banned Anthem: Unpacking "大家免著驚" (Tak-ke Bián Tio̍h Kiann)

The phrase "皇后 大道 東台 語" (Hóu-āu Tōa-tō͘ Tang Tâi-gí), or "Queen's Road East Taiwanese," is not a simple translation but a cultural and political echo. It is the key that unlocks one of the most brilliant and subversive acts of musical parallelism in Greater China's contemporary history, a song officially titled "大家免著驚" (Tak-ke Bián Tio̍h Kiann), which translates to "Everyone Don't Worry" or "Everyone Don't Be Afraid." Released in 1991, just six months after the Cantonese megahit "皇后大道東" (Queen's Road East), this Taiwanese Hokkien track by the legendary Lo Ta-yu (羅大佑) and the groundbreaking Lim Giong (林強) skillfully transplanted the anxiety of Hong Kong’s 1997 Handover into the turbulent political landscape of Taiwan's own democratic transition. The song remains a powerful, current, and often overlooked masterpiece of political commentary, especially as discussions around the original Cantonese song's censorship continue today, making its Taiwanese counterpart more relevant than ever.

This article will delve into the profound cultural significance of "大家免著驚," examining how the artists—Lo Ta-yu, the godfather of Chinese rock, and Lim Giong, the pioneer of Taiwanese New Wave—used local Taiwanese streets and political symbols to create a mirror image of the original Hong Kong allegory. It is a vital piece of musical history that speaks directly to the themes of sovereignty, identity, and the common people's resilience in the face of political upheaval.

The Architects of Allegory: Lo Ta-yu and Lim Giong

The creation of "大家免著驚" was a collaboration between two titans of Chinese and Taiwanese music, each bringing a unique political and musical perspective to the project. The song’s lyrics were a joint effort between Lo Ta-yu and the renowned Taiwanese lyricist Li Kun-cheng (李坤城).

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Lo Ta-yu (羅大佑) - The Godfather of Chinese Rock

• Born: July 20, 1954 (Age 71 as of 2025)
• Birthplace: Taipei, Taiwan
• Occupation: Singer-songwriter, musician, producer, composer.
• Key Role: The primary composer of both "Queen's Road East" and "大家免著驚," and a vocal critic of social and political issues across the Chinese-speaking world. His work in the 1980s and 90s defined the era of politically charged popular music.
• Notable Works: "Lukang, The Little Town," "Pearl of the Orient," "Tomorrow Will Be Better," and the albums Zhi Hu Zhe Ye and Hometown (原鄉), which features "大家免著驚."

Lim Giong (林強) - The Pioneer of Taiwanese New Wave

• Born: June 7, 1964 (Age 61 as of 2025)
• Birthplace: Chiayi, Taiwan
• Occupation: Musician, singer-songwriter, actor, and electronic music producer.
• Key Role: The vocalist for the Taiwanese Hokkien version, bringing authentic local flavor and a raw, working-class voice to the political commentary. He is a key figure in the *Taiwanese New Wave* music and film movements.
• Notable Works: His debut album, Marching Forward (向前走), is considered a landmark in modern Taiwanese Hokkien pop music. He is also a celebrated film composer, often collaborating with director Hou Hsiao-hsien, winning a Best Original Film Score award at the Golden Horse Awards.

The pairing of Lo Ta-yu, the pan-Chinese intellectual, with Lim Giong, the voice of local Taiwanese youth, was essential. It allowed the song to transcend a simple political track and become a genuine cultural statement on Taiwan's evolving identity in the post-martial law era.

From Queen's Road to Zhongxiao East Road: The Allegorical Map

The brilliance of "大家免著驚" lies in its lyrical mirroring of the original Cantonese song, "皇后大道東," by shifting the geographical and political focus from Hong Kong to Taipei. The original song used Hong Kong's Queen's Road East (皇后大道東) as a metaphor for the impending transfer of sovereignty from the British "Queen" (the Crown) to the new "Emperor" (Beijing).

In the Taiwanese Hokkien version, the political anxiety is localized and reframed around Taiwan's own struggle for identity and democratization following the end of Martial Law in 1987. The lyrics replace the colonial and handover metaphors with symbols of Taiwan's historical power structures:

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The Key Street Name Translations and Their Deeper Meaning

The lyrics of "大家免著驚" are a direct, line-by-line parallel to the Cantonese version, but with Taiwanese street names that carry immense political weight:

• Hong Kong's Queen's Road East (皇后大道東) is replaced by Taipei's Zhongxiao East Road (忠孝東路). This major Taipei thoroughfare symbolizes the bustling, commercial, and rapidly modernizing capital, a place of common life and aspiration.
• Queen's Road Central/West is replaced by Chiang Kai-shek Road (介壽大路). This is the most crucial substitution. "介壽大路" (Chiang Kai-shek Road) was the former name of Ketagalan Boulevard (凱達格蘭大道), the street leading directly to the Presidential Office Building and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂).
• The "Queen" (in the Cantonese version), symbolizing the British Crown, is replaced by the symbolism of Chiang Kai-shek (CKS) and the Kuomintang (KMT) authoritarian rule. The lyrics reference the "CKS Grand Temple Square" (中正大廟埕), a clear and slightly irreverent reference to the Memorial Hall, the central monument to the former dictator.

Where "Queen's Road East" asked, "Where did the Queen go?" and "Why is there no Emperor's Palace on Queen's Road East?", "大家免著驚" asks similar questions about the fate of the old authoritarian symbols and the new democratic reality. The song's title, "Everyone Don't Worry," is a mix of reassurance and subtle irony, suggesting that while the political landscape is changing—the old symbols are fading—the common people must still navigate the new, uncertain reality.

The Subtlety of Hokkien: De-Colonization and Democratization

The choice to use Taiwanese Hokkien (Tâi-gí) was a powerful political statement in itself in 1991. For decades under KMT rule, Mandarin Chinese had been the enforced national language, while Hokkien and other local languages were marginalized. The use of Tâi-gí by a major artist like Lo Ta-yu, and sung by a local voice like Lim Giong, was an act of linguistic de-colonization and a celebration of local Taiwanese identity.

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Political Entities and Topical Authority

• The "Coin" Allegory: The original song speaks of the Queen's face on the coin. The Taiwanese version speaks of old symbols fading, paralleling the gradual removal of Chiang Kai-shek's portrait from currency and public spaces—a slow, ongoing process of "de-Chiang Kai-shekization" (去蔣化).
• The Military Presence: The line "介壽大路口號按作無開聲" (The slogan at the CKS Road intersection is not shouted out) refers to the political slogans and military presence that once dominated the area around the Presidential Office. The silence symbolizes the transition from an authoritarian state to a more pluralistic, democratic society where political speech is no longer dictated from the top.
• The Common Man's Perspective: Lim Giong's delivery in Hokkien grounds the political themes in the perspective of the *Min-nan* (Southern Fujianese) majority in Taiwan. It’s a song about the people, sung in the language of the people, observing the changing power structures above them.

The song's core message is one of cautious optimism. The political gods are changing, the old statues are being moved, and the street names are being renamed (Chiang Kai-shek Road to Ketagalan Boulevard), but the common person’s life on the street, symbolized by the flow of traffic on Zhongxiao East Road, continues. The title, "大家免著驚" (Everyone Don't Worry), serves as a rallying cry for stability and a subtle warning against excessive fear or blind faith in the new political masters.

The Legacy and Current Relevance (2020s)

Decades after its release, "大家免著驚" remains a cornerstone of Taiwanese political folk music. Its relevance has only intensified in the 2020s, especially as the original "Queen's Road East" faces renewed censorship in mainland China, leading to a surge in discussions and re-analysis of both tracks online.

The song is frequently cited in discussions about the evolution of Taiwanese identity and democracy. It serves as a historical marker for the early 1990s, when Taiwan was grappling with its new political freedoms, the rise of local consciousness, and the challenge of establishing a new, post-authoritarian national narrative.

For musicologists and political commentators, the pair of songs—the Cantonese and the Taiwanese Hokkien versions—represent a unique dual-mirror reflection of the anxieties of Greater China during a pivotal era. They are a testament to how artists like Lo Ta-yu and Lim Giong used the universal language of music and the specific language of local streets to write coded histories of their respective societies, ensuring their messages would survive long after the political figures and regimes they commented on had faded. The song is not just a relic of the past; it is a living document of a nation's journey toward self-determination, reminding listeners that even as the great avenues of power change hands, the people must ultimately look out for themselves.