A documentary about Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) — the Republic of China’s (ROC) founding father — will not follow the pattern of deifying political figures, but instead accurately reflect history, Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA) Minister Emile Sheng (盛治仁) said.
“Although the documentary will be shot with a humanistic perspective instead of idolizing or deifying the protagonist, the project will be handled with a serious attitude and the film will be an accurate reflection of history,” he said.
The council has set aside a budget to finance the documentary as part of the ROC’s 100th anniversary celebrations next year.
However, even though the project’s production team has yet to be chosen, the documentary has already been hit by controversy.
Hu Fo (胡佛) of Academia Sinica and Chou Yang-shan (周陽山), a former professor who is now a Control Yuan member, sent open letters to local media criticizing the council and the ROC Centenary Foundation for what they described as a “frivolous and insolent” mentality in handling the project.
Chou cautioned the council that if the documentary deviates from historical facts, it would face censure by the Control Yuan.
The council is scheduled to post its open tender on its Web site between late this month and early next month to solicit submissions. The winning production team will have to complete the project by Oct. 31 next year.
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