Controversy over the portrayal of Aborigines in the film David Loman 2 (大尾鱸鰻2) continued yesterday, with activists protesting outside the offices of movie producer Vision Film Workshop Ltd.
Members of the Indigenous Youth Front held incense sticks while bowing before a picture of film director Chiu Li-kwan (邱?寬) in a mock memorial service, fumbling as they peeled through sheets of joss paper before flinging them in the air.
Activists said their inappropriate use of the “Han Chinese” ceremony was meant to spotlight the misrepresentation of their culture in David Loman 2.
Photo: Chen Yi-chuan, Taipei Times
The film has been criticized for a scene in which the main characters run into Tao Aborigines protesting against nuclear waste being stored on their native Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), with one character speaking gibberish to the protesters, who call him a “lunatic.”
“When you take something you are not familiar with and put it in the film as a joke, your racism is rubbing salt deep into 30-year-old wounds,” said Indigenous Youth Front member Savungaz Valincinan, a Bunun Aborigine.
She said Tao Aborigines had been deceived about the purpose of the nuclear waste site, which she said was built in the 1980s without any public hearings or consultation.
“The impact of movies goes far beyond what most people think,” she said, citing as an example the 1980s film Yes, Sir! 2 (報告班長2), which has had a lasting impact in spreading stereotypes about Aboriginal accents, with variety show hosts still using long drawn-out syllables at the end of sentences to tease Aboriginal guests.
“In the future when people see Tao Aborigines wearing their sacred hats and armor made of vines, will they think it’s funny?” she asked.
She demanded that the film producer issue a “sincere apology” and remove the controversial scene when the movie is released on video.
“Regardless of whether or not racism is ‘intentional,’ it still creates a huge amount of damage,” she said, calling for education reforms to bring in Aborgines’ perspectives and for the removal of nuclear waste from the island.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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