Christian leaders in Asia fear the debut today of the movie The Da Vinci Code, based on the premise that Jesus married and fathered children, may sour the image of their religion in the region, where Christianity is overshadowed by Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam.
Christians in India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand have either protested against the film or expressed concern.
India is temporarily putting the film's release on hold after a flood of complaints. Groups in Thailand persuaded local censors to release an edited version of the film, but the censors later reversed their position. Australian Christians have gone on the offensive, launching ads that challenge the movie's plot in movie theaters. Hong Kong's Catholic church has organized forums to "clarify the facts."
PHOTO: AFP
Christians around the world have criticized The Da Vinci Code, the largely faithful adaptation of the best-selling novel by the same name by Dan Brown.
One of the premises of the movie is that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and fathered children and that his descendants are still alive.
It's considered blasphemy by many Christians, but those in Asia are especially worried, fearful that the movie may spread misinformation about their religion, which is a minority faith in many countries in the region.
"If Jesus Christ had a child and a wife, then Christianity would be destroyed," said Thongchai Pradabchananurat, of the Thailand Protestant Churches Coordinating Committee.
After lobbying by Christian groups, Thailand's censorship board agreed to snip the last 10 minutes of the film, but the movie's maker, Columbia Pictures, appealed successfully yesterday.
In India, Joseph Dias, head of the Catholic Secular Forum, is on a hunger strike in downtown Bombay to protest the movie's planned release in his country, where most of the 1 billion population is Hindu.
After receiving more than 200 complaints, India's Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi said he is going to see the movie for himself, which may delay its scheduled release in the country tomorrow by a day or two.
Authorities in India, Singapore and South Korea have rejected calls to ban the film, saying audiences understand it is fictional.
Philippine movie censor Marissa Laguardia said it was important to preserve free speech in her country.
"Thirty-six countries have already reviewed this film and they have not banned it. So are we just out of the Stone Age?" Laguardia said.
Malaysian Bishop Lim Cheng Ean said the strength of Christian faith alone will counter the movie.
Meanwhile, critics at the Cannes film festival panned the film yesterday, describing it variously as a "dud," "unwieldy" and "plodding."
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS