China is too cautious about the lust in Ang Lee's (
The case highlights public dissent about China's censorship system, which doesn't classify films by age-appropriateness. All movies that clear censors are open to everyone.
Dong Yanbin (
The graduate law student at the China University of Political Science and Law is also suing the movie theater where he saw the film, alleging that it denied him his right to information and wants 500 yuan (US$67) for mental anguish and apologies from the theater and SARFT, the Beijing Times said.
"The publicly released version of Lust, Caution is structurally flawed. It fails to portray the psychology of the female lead," Dong was quoted as saying.
Asked about the newspaper report, a man who answered the phone at the publicity office of Beijing's Xicheng courthouse said Dong had filed such a lawsuit but that the court hasn't decided whether to accept the case.
"He has filed the lawsuit, but the court had not created a case yet," the man said, declining to give his name. He said he didn't know the details of the case.
Dong couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Calls to the graduate student office at his university, to a SARFT spokesman and the movie theater, UME Huaxing International Cineplex, went unanswered.
Lust, Caution is about the sexually charged relationship between an undercover student activist and the Japanese-allied intelligence chief in World War II Shanghai. Its explicit nature -- featuring abusive sex and a variety of lovemaking positions -- have earned it adult-only ratings in the US and Asia.
Although the censored version was shown in China, local audiences appeared to be aware of the cuts from media reports.
Despite the cuts, Lust, Caution has quickly become a big hit in China, earning more than 90 million yuan (US$12 million) since opening two weeks ago and generating a huge number of Internet commentaries.
Lee, however, hasn't made a big fuss about the cuts in China.
"It doesn't affect the story or character development because they only involve a few minutes ... The movie will feel much less intense. That's all," he told reporters while promoting the film in Hong Kong recently.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS