Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Ngalim Tiunn (張雅琳) yesterday criticized Sunshine Women’s Choir (陽光女子合唱團), a Taiwanese production that received a government subsidy, for calling itself the “all-time box office champion for Chinese-language films from the China-Taiwan region.”
In a post on the film’s official social media account on Monday last week, it boasted a cumulative box office of NT$740 million (US$23.2 million), saying it broke an 18-year record for “Chinese-language films in the China-Taiwan region.”
The film, set to premiere in China next Saturday, received more than NT$18 million in Taiwanese government subsidies from the Ministry of Culture, as well as the Taipei and Taoyuan city governments, Tiunn said in a post on social media yesterday.
Photo: Screen grab from the film’s Sina Weibo account
“This is taxpayers’ money, and yet the film went along with China’s cultural ‘united front’ rhetoric,” she said, accusing it of hurting the feelings of Taiwanese people and undermining the subjectivity of Taiwanese culture.
It is understandable that Taiwanese movies face significant pressure when entering the Chinese market, she said.
She asked, “Does the film, which reached an NT$740 million box office with support from Taiwanese audiences and government subsidies, have to become a production from ‘China’s Taiwan region’ when promoted in China?”
She said she has urged the Ministry of Culture to elaborate on the case, adding that she last year requested the ministry review the subsidy system.
She also said she has asked the ministry to consider whether there should be clear regulations governing government-subsidized productions using political rhetoric that belittles Taiwan in overseas promotion.
In response, the Ministry of Culture said yesterday that its Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development has asked the film’s production team to clarify the situation as soon as possible.
The ministry added that it would soon discuss relevant response mechanisms with industry representatives and agencies.
China has used various “united front” tactics not only to achieve political goals, but also to create confrontation and division, the ministry said.
This places Taiwanese productions under double pressure — either risking failure to enter the Chinese market or hurting the feelings of Taiwanese people, it said.
The ministry said it is pleased to see Taiwanese productions reaching a global audience, but it is obligated to remind the industry that Taiwan’s free and democratic environment is what nurtures good stories.
Support from Taiwanese audiences for domestic films serves as a reminder for the ministry to work with the industry and the public to safeguard the nation’s cultural sovereignty, it added.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS