Ex-President Tsai rocks AI pink hair to mark upcoming Blackpink concert

Taipei, Oct. 16 (CNA) Former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) joined Kaohsiung's Blackpink fever on Thursday, posting a playful photo on Threads that showed her with bright pink hair, courtesy of artificial intelligence, to celebrate the K-pop group's upcoming concerts in the southern city.

Tsai's post came a day after Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) shared his own AI-generated photo on Wednesday, featuring pink hair on Instagram and Threads.

"Someone (not Chen) sent this to me. Pink -- but it doesn't seem to suit me?" Tsai wrote in the caption on Thursday.

According to city spokesperson Hsiang Pin-ho (項賓和), Chen had personally requested the Wednesday AI photo after seeing Kaohsiung residents sharing pink-haired pictures online to mark the weekend shows.

Blackpink will perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the first stop of their Asia tour.

To welcome fans, Kaohsiung has launched a series of pink-themed celebrations, lighting up six major landmarks -- the Love River, Great Harbor Bridge, Port Cruise Terminal, Music Center, Train Station and MRT Formosa Boulevard Station -- from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. each night this week.

The city government has also boosted metro services and added luggage storage at MRT Zuoying Station to accommodate the surge of concertgoers.

Blackpink's popularity has already left its mark on the city -- their 2023 concerts in Kaohsiung broke local metro ridership records.