Since Chinese artists and films were invited to join the Golden Horse Awards in 1996, the festival has been a bastion of cross-strait cultural exchanges. Staging an annual event that highlights the best in Chinese-language film has been a boon to the global industry.
This makes the China Film Administration’s decision on Wednesday to ban all Chinese-made films and participants from this year’s awards puzzling.
As Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said: “This is China’s loss.”
Economically speaking, Beijing has little to lose from its absence. Last year, domestically produced films took 62.2 percent of China’s total ticket sales, with even Hollywood failing to break into the top five highest grossers, although it is largely due to Beijing’s import restrictions.
However, the value of film does not lie only in economics. Cinema is a powerful way to communicate a nation’s perspective, and to generate goodwill and respect. South Korea knows this well, as studies have shown that the “Korean Wave” has contributed to its tourism industry and improved public perception of the nation.
By pulling Chinese films out of a festival in which they enjoy significant respect, Beijing is cutting off a crucial avenue of communication, especially among the Chinese-speaking world.
In relations that are already rife with miscommunication, cultural events such as the Golden Horse Awards are important to foster a sense of understanding. If the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are “one family” as it claims, then its failure to connect with other Chinese-speaking nations would only drive them away.
There has been some speculation that the move is a step toward supplanting the awards with its own festival, but this too is misguided. The Golden Horse Awards in part draws acclaim based on its record of impartiality. Would a major Chinese festival ever accept a film on Taiwanese independence or LGBT issues?
It might argue that art is separate from politics, but successful art — especially film — often helps people navigate social and political anxieties. As such, to be recognized as a stalwart of good critical sense, a festival cannot ignore powerful films because they are “political.” Indeed, “political” films are often the most powerful.
Similarly, the justification of the ban championed by many commenters that the awards have become politicized is also incorrect, with one Sina Weibo user saying: “Taiwan made this award political first, don’t we have a right to punch back?”
They were likely responding to a spat at last year’s awards after Taiwanese documentary director Fu Yu (傅榆) voiced her support for Taiwanese independence in her acceptance speech. However, an isolated comment made by a director does not mean that the awards are politicized.
The event celebrates Chinese films and creativity, as evidenced by their consistently successful showing. China was even able to respond in the same capacity, as director Zhang Yimou (張藝謀) and actor Tu Men (涂們) used the phrases “Chinese films” and “Taiwan, China” in their speeches. If anything, Beijing is the one politicizing the event by pulling out.
This goes back to the question of what China has to gain from the move. As opposed to the ban on individual travelers to Taiwan that went into effect last week, which has the potential to affect the tourism industry, China is not hurting Taiwan by failing to attend. The awards ceremony is to be held as scheduled and it still received a record number of submissions, 685, despite a 35 percent annual decline in Chinese submission to only 148.
There are still plenty of quality films from other markets — it will only embarrass China and those in its film industry that a petty political move will stop them from sharing their art with a willing audience.
Saudi Arabian largesse is flooding Egypt’s cultural scene, but the reception is mixed. Some welcome new “cooperation” between two regional powerhouses, while others fear a hostile takeover by Riyadh. In Cairo, historically the cultural capital of the Arab world, Egyptian Minister of Culture Nevine al-Kilany recently hosted Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki al-Sheikh. The deep-pocketed al-Sheikh has emerged as a Medici-like patron for Egypt’s cultural elite, courted by Cairo’s top talent to produce a slew of forthcoming films. A new three-way agreement between al-Sheikh, Kilany and United Media Services — a multi-media conglomerate linked to state intelligence that owns much of
The US and other countries should take concrete steps to confront the threats from Beijing to avoid war, US Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said in an interview with Voice of America on March 13. The US should use “every diplomatic economic tool at our disposal to treat China as what it is... to avoid war,” Diaz-Balart said. Giving an example of what the US could do, he said that it has to be more aggressive in its military sales to Taiwan. Actions by cross-party US lawmakers in the past few years such as meeting with Taiwanese officials in Washington and Taipei, and
Denmark’s “one China” policy more and more resembles Beijing’s “one China” principle. At least, this is how things appear. In recent interactions with the Danish state, such as applying for residency permits, a Taiwanese’s nationality would be listed as “China.” That designation occurs for a Taiwanese student coming to Denmark or a Danish citizen arriving in Denmark with, for example, their Taiwanese partner. Details of this were published on Sunday in an article in the Danish daily Berlingske written by Alexander Sjoberg and Tobias Reinwald. The pretext for this new practice is that Denmark does not recognize Taiwan as a state under
The Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan has no official diplomatic allies in the EU. With the exception of the Vatican, it has no official allies in Europe at all. This does not prevent the ROC — Taiwan — from having close relations with EU member states and other European countries. The exact nature of the relationship does bear revisiting, if only to clarify what is a very complicated and sensitive idea, the details of which leave considerable room for misunderstanding, misrepresentation and disagreement. Only this week, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) received members of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations