Taiwan’s YouTuber Industry and Culture: From Tsai A-ga to Chi Hsuan, the Digital Cultural Evolution of an Island

30-second overview: In March 2024, the Taiwanese magic YouTuber “Chi Hsuan Tricking” became the first creator in Taiwan to reach ten million subscribers, marking the evolution of Taiwanese YouTube culture from Tsai A-ga’s 2008 pro-Taiwan current-affairs videos into an internationally competitive content-export platform. YouTube reaches more than 95% of internet users in Taiwan, while short-form video, or Shorts, now accounts for more than 75% of viewing time. Creators are entering a period of transition from pure video production toward branding and diversified monetization.

On March 9, 2024, a creator who combines martial arts, gymnastics, and magic made Taiwanese history on YouTube: Wu Chi-hsuan’s “Chi Hsuan Tricking” channel became the first YouTube channel in Taiwan to surpass ten million subscribers, earning Google’s Diamond Creator Award¹. Yet the significance of this milestone goes far beyond a number. It marks the turning point at which Taiwanese YouTube culture moved decisively from “local entertainment” to “international export.”

From Wretch to YouTube: The Evolution of Taiwan’s Online Video

Taiwan’s YouTube story begins in 2008. That year, Tsai Wei-chia, better known as Tsai A-ga, a creator from Chiayi, began uploading current-affairs videos with pro-Taiwan themes to his blog. At the time, Taiwan’s internet culture was still largely in the text-based era of Wretch, the popular blogging and social-networking platform, and PTT, Taiwan’s major bulletin-board system. For most people, YouTube was still “a place to watch foreign videos.”

Tsai A-ga changed that. He discussed current affairs through a mode of humor familiar to Taiwanese audiences, from “singing English songs in Taiwanese” to his “Taiwan night market” series, and created a YouTube language that felt distinctly Taiwanese. In 2014, his channel surpassed one million subscribers, making him the first YouTuber in Taiwan to reach that milestone².

💡 Did you know?
Tsai A-ga began creating content in 2008. Across nearly two decades of work, he has documented his years as a student, military service, marriage, and fatherhood. His career is, in effect, a living history of Taiwan’s social video development.

At the same time, another group of creators rose in different fields. “This Group of People TGOP” became Taiwan’s first channel to exceed two million subscribers in 2017³. “Saint” surpassed one million subscribers in just 225 days⁴, setting a Taiwanese record at the time. Chen Chih-han, widely known as “the Gym Master,” built a major presence in livestreaming by combining fitness with social criticism.

The Million-Subscriber Wave and the Walk Bell John Awards: A Golden Age for Taiwanese Creators

After 2018, Taiwan entered a period of rapid growth in million-subscriber channels. Ray Du English made language learning entertaining; Shasha77 packaged complex social issues into accessible knowledge-based content. To recognize these digital content creators, the “Walk Bell John Awards,” initiated by the “EyeCTV” team, were first held in 2019⁵ and have since become the “Oscars” of Taiwan’s online world⁶.

Taiwanese YouTubers at this stage shared one major feature: a strong sense of localization. Whether in Tsai A-ga’s pro-Taiwan sentiment, the Gym Master’s blunt Taiwanese style, or Ray Du’s switching between Mandarin and English, their work carried a strong “Taiwanese flavor.”

📝 Curator’s note
What is interesting is that this very “Taiwanese flavor” helped these creators stand out in the Mandarin-speaking world. In a world filled with standardized content, local character instead became their greatest advantage in differentiation.

International Breakthrough: Wu Chi-hsuan and the Shorts Dividend

The true global breakthrough came through short-form video. According to statistics, Wu Chi-hsuan had already accumulated more than 2.5 billion views by 2023 and reached ten million subscribers in March 2024¹. His success came from “body-language” content that transcends linguistic barriers and from capturing the algorithmic dividend of YouTube Shorts. This shows that Taiwanese creators now have the ability to cross language barriers and connect directly with global audiences.

Controversy and Authenticity: The Red Lines for Commentators

As their influence has expanded, creators’ speech has also faced stricter scrutiny. In 2023, Tsai A-ga sparked diplomatic and cultural controversy with a video calling five Japanese chain restaurants “super unpalatable,” and eventually issued a public apology⁷. In addition, sharp-tongued reviews of Michelin-recommended restaurants by commentators such as Toyz have often triggered broader social debates over “professionalism versus traffic.”

These controversies reflect Taiwanese audiences’ pursuit of “authenticity,” but they also highlight the challenge creators face in balancing freedom of criticism and social responsibility while chasing clicks.

Business Models: From Ad Revenue Sharing to Diversified Monetization

YouTube has extremely high influence in Taiwan. According to recent reports, YouTube can reach more than 95% of internet users in Taiwan⁸. However, advertising revenue, or AdSense, generally accounts for only 20-40% of Taiwanese creators’ total income. Sponsored collaborations and personal branding are their primary sources of revenue⁹.

For example, Tsai A-ga founded Dadafo Entertainment¹⁰, turning creator identity into intellectual property. Many creators, such as Joeman¹¹ and Chien-Chien¹², have launched co-branded convenience-store foods, converting online traffic into offline sales.

VTubers: Rising Stars in the Virtual World

The most unexpected development has been the rapid rise of VTubers, or virtual YouTubers, in Taiwan. In 2023, VTubers occupied 42 places among Taiwan’s top 100 YouTube Super Chat rankings, accounting for 38% of the total amount on the list¹³.

💡 Did you know?
In 2023, the Taiwanese VTuber “Mizuki” raised NT$8.74 million through a crowdfunding campaign for her 3D model, far exceeding the target of NT$3 million and showing the strong commercial potential of virtual idols in Taiwan¹⁴.

Social Impact: From Entertainment to Issue-Based Discussion

Another characteristic of Taiwanese YouTube culture is its strong social engagement. Shasha77’s “SimpleInfo Design” visualizes complex issues; Eye Central Television, which stopped updating in June 2023¹⁵, once discussed politics through humor; and The Night Night Show with Brian Tseng brought an American-style talk-show format into Taiwan’s mainstream. This model of “softly discussing hard issues” has profoundly shaped public participation among Taiwan’s younger generation¹⁶.

Future Outlook: Challenges in the AI Era

As AI technology lowers the barriers to content creation, Taiwanese creators are facing the dual challenges of “algorithm anxiety” and “content saturation.” Many established creators have shifted direction or announced breaks from uploading. Over the next decade, Taiwanese YouTube culture will likely develop toward integration of the virtual and the physical, international collaboration, and deeper forms of cultural export.

From Tsai A-ga’s first video to Chi Hsuan’s ten million subscribers, Taiwanese YouTube culture has completed an astonishing evolution in less than two decades. This is not only a victory of technology, but also the story of how an island redefined itself in the digital age.

Further reading:

• PanSci — From popular-science articles to short-form video, YouTube MCNs, and services for knowledge creators, this case helps explain how knowledge-based creators respond to algorithms and commercialization.

References