Sat, Mar 31, 2018 page3

• Director unfazed by Chinese ban

  FILM ON HOLD: Director Lin Cheng-sheng said that finding funding would be difficult without the market in China, but that art needs only hard work and talent

  • By Hsu Shih-ying, Lin Mei-hsueh and Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporters, with staff writer
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  His ambition is to create films that can be seen by the entire world, director of Missing Johnny (強尼．凱克) Lin Cheng-sheng (林正盛) said, in response to allegations that China has banned the film amid claims on Chinese social media that its male lead, Lawrence Ko (柯宇綸), supports Taiwanese independence.

  The Chinese distributor of the film, China Film Co, on Monday said in a statement that the movie, originally scheduled for release on April 14, has been put on hold until further notice.

  China Film did not give a reason for the delay, but the announcement followed a public outcry in China over an online article accusing Ko of supporting Taiwanese independence.

  In response, Lin on Thursday said that without the Chinese market, it would be relatively difficult to find funding for films, but added: “[We] do not have to make big-budget films.”

  “If [we] work hard and come up with a solid story and script, even if the budget is smaller, [we] can still create a good work of art and show the film to the entire world,” he said.

  Lin said he does not want to comment further on a totalitarian country that reviews the ideology behind works of art and people, adding that this kind of issue happens repeatedly and doing so would be a waste of his time.

  Even protesting would be excessive, he added.

  It is the government that should express its opinion, Lin said.

  Apart from protesting, the government should create a cultural policy and industry environment that facilitates development in diverse ways and markets works of art to the rest of the world, Lin said.

  For society to be strong, the government first needs to build a good environment, he said.

  Works of art should be geared toward a global audience and cultural works should be encouraged, Lin said.

  Foreigners enjoy seeing Taiwanese culture in films, he added.

  “If [we] cannot showcase the value of Taiwan, we will remain in China’s shadow,” he said.

  Lin also called the 31 measures that China’s Taiwan Affairs Office announced on Feb. 28, which it billed as “incentives” for Taiwanese, are a “united front” strategy.

  The public should not judge entertainers who have turned to the Chinese market, because those are their choices and they are finding ways to survive, he said.

  Do not engage in an ideological war within the industry, he said, adding that it is more important to build a good environment.

  It is useless to simply participate in events and give a warm and moving speech, former Public Television Service president Sylvia Feng (馮賢賢) wrote on Facebook.

  People have long felt nothing toward political acts ridden with ornate and decorative language, Feng wrote, adding that politicians should promote counterpolicies and action.
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