A TV show featuring and produced by Taiwanese actress Ruby Lin (林心如) is again being streamed on a Chinese online video platform and other streaming services after being pulled at the end of last month amid claims that it had received “pro-independence sponsorship.”
My Dear Boy (我的男孩) was pulled from broadcast in Guangdong Province on Dec. 31 over a NT$20 million (US$676,544) subsidy the producers received from the Ministry of Culture.
Lin’s studio on Jan. 7 issued a statement saying that rumors about her supporting independence were “malicious lies and are causing serious damage to her reputation.”
“Ms Ruby Lin has never supported and will never support any pro-independence discourses or actions,” the statement added.
The state-owned Global Times tabloid yesterday quoted an anonymous Chinese official as saying that My Dear Boy did not involve elements of Taiwanese independence.
The show does not features artists who support Taiwanese independence or include any pro-independence content, the paper quoted the official as saying.
The sponsorship program has been in place since former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration and is meant to promote Taiwanese culture, which is a part of Chinese culture, the official said.
Attempts to censor the show and out Lin might have inadvertently allowed Taiwanese independence supporters to get what they want, the official added.
The Global Times said Lin had “cleansed her reputation.”
Asked about Beijing’s follow-up measures regarding the show, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang (馬曉光) told a news conference on Wednesday: “We have noticed the incident and believe authorities will objectively evaluate the situation and carry out the appropriate measures.”
My Dear Boy is about a love affair between a successful career woman and a university student.
Additional reporting by CNA
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