Council for Cultural Affairs minister Emile Sheng (盛治仁) has resigned after outrage mounted over a decision to spend NT$215 million (US$7.1 million) of public money on a rock musical that was only staged twice, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said yesterday.
Sheng came under fire after the council staged Dreamers (夢想家), a big-budget musical that told the stories of young people and their dreams that led to the Xinhai Revolution and the Republic of China’s (ROC) establishment, as part of the nation’s centennial celebrations last month.
The opposition accused Sheng of wasting public funds on an overly expensive production and of favoring the director of the show during bidding, and called for an investigation. Sheng’s troubles deepened after a group of artists and directors launched an online petition demanding he quit.
Photo: Hu Shun-hsiang, Taipei Times
Wu said Sheng had repeatedly offered to resign and he finally accepted it on Thursday night.
Wu said he did not know the show had such a high budget and that he regretted the money was spent in that way.
Dreamers was different from other shows because it was a headlining event of the centennial celebrations, which would not have been completed without numerous technical personnel, actors and sets, he said.
“However, I know that some art groups often have difficulties getting grants from governments, even just small amounts of NT$150,000 or NT$200,000,” he added.
Sheng’s resignation was accepted because it has caused dissatisfaction among other artists, which would have made it difficult for him to implement policies, Wu said, adding that Sheng’s position would be temporarily filled by the council’s deputy minister, Lee Jen-fang (李仁芳).
Sheng told a press conference that he had acted with integrity. He added that he regretted the controversy over Dreamers.
“I also need to reflect on myself because I failed to consider public opinion on the budget spent on a large-scale event, as the budget allocation for culture is already limited,” he said. “I would like to apologize if I fell short of public expectations.”
At a separate setting, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he agreed with Sheng’s decision to resign.
“The musical cost too much money and is perceived negatively by the public. I agree that he should have stepped down,” he said in an interview with the ETTV.
Ma, seeking re-election in January, dismissed allegations that Sheng offered his resignation under pressure from the Cabinet to prevent the incident from affecting the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) performance in the upcoming presidential and legislative election. He said any Cabinet official could be replaced any time.
KMT spokesperson Lai Su-ju (賴素如) defended Sheng, saying he was a responsible official and he resigned to prevent the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from manipulating the issue.
However, the DPP said Sheng’s resignation alone “does not help the public find out the truth.”
“The suspicions surrounding the production of the musical are just the tip of the iceberg,” DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said. “Sheng still has not explained why a musical that could be done for NT$2 million cost more than NT$200 million and why tenders for the production of the musical had to be conducted as restricted bids.”
“The ROC Centenary Foundation in charge of the musical production and other centenary celebration activities might have been involved in more scandals and the judicial authority has to look into it,” he added.
The DPP has filed a lawsuit against Sheng for allegedly favoring certain performance companies and individuals in the bidding for the staging of the musical.
Saying the production of Dreamers not only wasted money, but that it also involved corruption, Chen called on the Ma administration not to intervene in the case.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih and AFP
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