Taiwanese actor Leon Dai (戴立忍) was replaced in a film directed by Chinese actress Zhao Wei (趙薇) after he failed to clarify his political stance, the film’s production team said yesterday.
“Following Dai’s initial statement, the director and investors have both expressed hope that he can provide a fuller explanation to the public and state his stance more clearly on important issues,” the production team of Mei You Bie de Ai (沒有別的愛), or No Other Love, said in a statement.
“Because Dai remained vague on his stance, the director and investors decided to replace Dai as the lead actor,” the team said.
Photo: Screen grab from Zhao Wei’s microblog
The announcement came amid reports of online campaigns in China to boycott the movie after Zhao posted a photograph of her and the cast, including Dai, on her Sina Weibo page when filming wrapped up late last month.
On June 30, Dai posted a statement on Sina saying that he has expressed his concern over issues in Taiwan, such as the forced demolition of private homes, gay rights and the development of nuclear power, but he has not joined any political party.
He said he is “against oppression and respects the views of other people,” but does not accept being called a supporter of Taiwanese independence, because it is not true.
Dai, 49, is also a director, whose 2009 film No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti (不能沒有你, Cannot Live Without You), adapted from a true story of a father’s fight for the custody of his child, won him the best director award at both the Golden Horse Awards and the Asia-Pacific Film Festival that year.
He has been involved with 11 films in the past two years, including The Assassin (聶隱娘), a martial arts movie for which Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢) won the award for best director at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
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