Actor Johnny Kou (寇世勳), who stars in a period suspense movie adapted from the story of the Lin (林) family murders, yesterday apologized to the victims’ family after it was brought to light that the production had been shot without consent.
The film, titled Murder of the Century (世紀血案), was based on the murders of three members of the Lin family on Feb. 28, 1980. Democracy advocate Lin I-hsiung’s (林義雄) mother and twin daughters were killed, while his eldest daughter was severely injured.
At the time of the killings, Lin had been detained for participating in a human rights rally in Kaohsiung.
Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Taipei Times
The Lin family murders is one of the highest-profile homicide cases in modern Taiwanese history and remains unsolved.
Lin, 84, said he had not been informed about the movie and had not given his consent, sparking public condemnation.
Kou, who plays the role of a Taiwan Garrison Command and National Security Bureau high official in the film, apologized to the Lin family in a statement on Facebook.
He expressed deep remorse and said that his insufficient understanding of the tragedy caused secondary harm to the Lin family.
“I offer my deepest condolences and sincere apologies to Mr Lin I-hsiung, Ms Fang Su-min (方素敏), their family, and all victims and descendants of the 228 Incident,” he wrote.
Kou urged the production team to halt the film’s post-production and distribution until formal authorization and understanding can be obtained from all parties to prevent further spread of incorrect perceptions.
He said he would fully learn the historical truth and the social obligation that an actor has to shoulder when engaging in work that involves historical trauma.
Kou’s statement followed apologies from other cast members, including Candy Yang (楊小黎), Jian Man-shu (簡嫚書), Nana Lee (李千娜) and Hsia Teng-hung (夏騰宏).
Director Yeh Tien-lun (葉天倫) said the producers of the film held a promotional event on Sunday last week, so coverage of the event were released the following day, which was the birthday of the deceased Lin twins.
Choosing a sensitive date to generate publicity showed ignorance and a lack of respect for history, and has caused harm to the victims and society, he said, calling the Lin family murders a collective trauma for Taiwanese.
Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) yesterday said he believed the film is “legally problematic,” citing the lack of consent from the parties involved and disputes with cast members.
The film would trample on Taiwanese and show contempt for history by distorting it, he said.
The film’s producer, Kuo Mu-sheng (郭木盛), had not responded to requests for comment as of press time last night.
Additional reporting by Hsiao Fang-chi and Fu Ming-yu
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS