There was a second interview several months later was “amicable” until the end, when the and a third time this May, just before the general elections. Acquaintances, including a filmmaker and a political blogger, Jacob George, also received calls from police.
Ultimately See's video camera, but not his tapes, were returned and he was let off with a warning.
Chee, who has been bankrupted by defamation lawsuits brought by ruling party leaders and jailed three times for speaking without a permit, saw the news as a victory.
“My first thought was that they didn't want to make Martyn a cause celebre,” he said in a phone interview Tuesday. “I think it was a sign that this government knew where its boundaries are, that if it pushed beyond those boundaries their actions would backfire and be counterproductive.”
But See, who maintains he was never told exactly how Singapore Rebel violated the Films Act, is not so sure. “The roadblocks can be put in place at the whim and fancy of the government,” he said. “If you think that you're making some headway they always close it down.”
George agreed. “I don't see (Singapore Rebel) having a major impact,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday. Filmmakers “know they had better not make this kind of movie.”
Still, he thinks people in Taiwan should watch See's film. “It gives another side of Singapore politically which is rarely ever seen,” he said.
See hopes Singapore Rebel will remind viewers that they should not take Taiwan's democracy for granted. “Just watching programs on television (here) openly criticizing the president … for me it's like a breath of fresh air,” he said. “I'm actually envious of Taiwan,” he added. “Taiwanese are interested in their political system.”
Film notes:
Singapore Rebel plays today at 12:30pm at the Assignment Theatre (差事劇團), one of three films from that country at this weekend's Left Side Film Festival. At 8pm, director Martyn See (施忠明) will discuss Singapore Rebel in a forum, also at the Assignment Theatre. Following the discussion, there will be the world premier of his new film Speaker's Cornered, a 27-minute documentary on Chee Soon Juan's attempt to protest in front of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's recent annual meeting in Singapore. For more information, call (02) 2364-5124. Assignment Theatre is located at 9-10, Ln 18, Heping E Rd, Sec 2, Taipei (台北市和平東路二段18巷9-10號B1).
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