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
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS