The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it had not ruled out taking legal action against film director Doze Niu (鈕承澤) for helping a Chinese cinematographer enter a military base and board a navy vessel.
Navy Command Headquarters said Niu and a 23-member production team visited the Zuoying (左營) military port in Greater Kaohsiung on June 1 to scout for locations for his new film, Military Paradise (軍中樂園), which is scheduled to begin shooting next month.
Although security officers asked to look at the team members’ national ID cards before they entered the port, the military later discovered that Chinese photographer Cao Yu (曹郁) had entered the base by using the identity of a Republic of China (ROC) citizen, the headquarters said.
Niu and his team boarded an LST-208 vessel, but were only allowed to take photographs of part of the outdated ship, the headquarters said.
The ministry said it had warned Niu against violating regulations governing the protection of military secrets two times before his visit.
The navy said yesterday that it would review the incident to see if there had been any negligence on its part, adding that it would turn over evidence about the team’s visit to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office today for an investigation.
When reached for comment yesterday morning, ministry spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said the ministry would take legal action against Niu if he broke the law.
“Given that Niu’s actions violated the principle of good faith and our agreement that no Chinese citizens would enter the military base, the ministry is considering whether to end its assistance for his film shoot,” Lo said.
The military has provided assistance to several TV stations and movie companies in producing shows and films with military links in the past, and none had ever violated regulations, Lo said.
Niu offered an apology on his Facebook page yesterday.
“I might have gone overboard in order to make a better film,” he wrote.
“The recent events have given me a chance to reflect on myself. Film directors always resort to every conceivable means to make a good movie, but it is about time that we do some self-reflection. I should be more humble and gentle, and should be more grateful and respectful of everything,” he wrote.
Sources familiar with the law said Cao could be guilty of document forgery and violating Article 10 of the Vital Area Regulations (要塞堡壘地帶法) if he entered the port using a ROC citizen’s ID card.
Cao may have also violated Article 111 of the Criminal Code and the National Security Act (國家安全法) if he photographed or filmed other naval facilities, the sources said.
Under Article 111, any person who illegally gathers information concerning the defense of the ROC could face imprisonment.
Cao has twice won photography awards at the Golden Horse movie festival.
Additional reporting by AP
This story has been corrected since published to reflect that Cao Yu is a cinematographer, not a photographer.
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
CAUTION URGED: Xiaohongshu and Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — are tools the Chinese government uses for its ‘united front’ propaganda, the MAC said Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) yesterday urged people who use Chinese social media platforms to be cautious of being influenced by Beijing’s “united front” propaganda and undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty. Chiu made the remarks in response to queries about Chinese academic Zhang Weiwei (張維為) saying that as young Taiwanese are fond of interacting on Chinese app Xiaohongshu (小紅書, known as RedNote in English), “after unification with China, it would be easier to govern Taiwan than Hong Kong.” Zhang is professor of international relations at Shanghai’s Fudan University and director of its China Institute. When giving a speech at China’s Wuhan
RSS