The wrap-up press event on Feb. 1 for the new local period suspense film Murder of the Century (世紀血案), adapted from the true story of the Lin family murders (林家血案) in 1980, has sparked waves of condemnation in the past week, as well as a boycott.
The film is based on the shocking, unsolved murders that occurred at then-imprisoned provincial councilor and democracy advocate Lin I-hsiung’s (林義雄) residence on Feb. 28, 1980, while Lin was detained for his participation in the Formosa Incident, in which police and protesters clashed during a pro-democracy rally in Kaohsiung organized by Formosa Magazine on Dec. 10, 1979.
In the incident, Lin’s mother and seven-year-old twin daughters were stabbed to death, while his eldest daughter survived a severe knife injury.
The 84-year-old Lin and his family were not approached for their consent before the movie was filmed, which triggered significant public concern of re-traumatization and exploitation. It also caused speculation about potential hidden motives for making the film and outrage toward the production team for its disregard for the privacy and dignity of the survivors.
While the production team and the director were unexpectedly absent from the press event, some remarks by the actors added fuel to the fire, including an actor surnamed Lee (李) who said that the film would “rearrange the incident so that it does not seem so serious or so scary,” an actor surnamed Kou (寇) who said that “the script itself does not have a strong ideological agenda,” and an actor surnamed Yang (楊) who said that the film feels similar to a Sherlock Holmes-like detective genre.
Moreover, the director, Hsu Kun-hua (徐琨華), was discovered to be the grandson of Hsu Mei-lin (徐梅鄰), the then-spokesperson of the Taiwan Garrison Command, while the owner of the production company, Phase 2 (費思兔文化娛樂), was found to be the president of China’s largest restaurant company, sparking speculation about their motivations behind making the film.
The Taiwan Garrison Command was the primary quasi-military secret police and state security body enforcing White Terror policies — including political repression of Lin and other advocates of democracy — under martial law imposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) authoritarian regime from 1949 to 1987.
The murders occurred during the daytime while Lin’s home was under tight surveillance, which has fueled suspicion that the KMT government was most likely behind the killings, prompting a public uproar and concern from international human rights groups at the time. Later reports by the Transitional Justice Comission and the Control Yuan in 2020 and 2023 also indicated intervention from state intelligence, with the Control Yuan describing the incident as evidence of “major state violence” in its report.
In the past week, many public figures from different fields have voiced disgust and outrage about the film, while a boycott campaign on social media has garnered support from tens of thousands of people.
Lee and Yang, and two other actors surnamed Jian (簡) and Huang (黃), on Saturday released statements to apologize to the Lin family as well as the public, expressing their regret for being misled by the production team.
The production team later also issued a statement confirming that they did not seek Lin’s consent and apologized for any offense caused to the public, but it did not address public concerns or explain how it would attempt to make up for the “oversight.”
Aside from the delayed apologies, the production team and actors displayed a severe lack of professionalism and empathy, as they neglected to conduct fundamental research to enable ethical and accurate storytelling, and instead carelessly exploited the victims’ profound suffering and collective pain, turning a true tragedy into content for cheap entertainment.
Moreover, the joyful attitudes of the actors at the press event, promoting the project as a thrilling suspense film, highlighted why people should be concerned — it shows the production’s ignorance of and indifference to an important event in Taiwan’s democratic history.
Claiming a “neutral” stance while depicting a high-profile political murder that took place under an authoritarian regime is inexcusable, and only lends itself to glossing over historical facts.
As the film is set for release next year, the controversy it has stirred up might inadvertently serve as a good reminder to the public that Taiwan’s democracy did not just fall from the sky, and that pursuing transitional justice by seeking the truth while respecting and honoring victims is important for fostering reconciliation and preventing the return of authoritarianism.
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