I guess this is the middle of the end, then?
The Rebiya Kadeer documentary is being spun as "on" for the KaohsiungFilm Festival, despite pressure from China. But that is not really the truth of the situation, as much as the Liberty Times will try to spin it otherwise.
The showing has been scheduled for a Tues. or Wed. way before the official festival starts, and you can't watch that film as part of the package ticket either. In otherwords, Kaohsiung will show it, but not at the film festival. Wuss out. Bam.
So, if the Kaohsiung city government will be willing to do this just to keep Chinese tourists coming in, I conclude we are now fully and irreversibly in China's orbit. Get ready for soft unification, friends!
7 comments:
Totally agree with you, man. I was misled by Liberty Times' reports into believing that Kaoshiung city is still resisting China's pressure.
What were you expecting? Money talks. Taiwan is just too small to withstand the wads of Chinese cash it can get provided it plays nicely.
A film is small-fry, though. If you're giving up over this, well, you never really cared much in the first place.
Kaoshiung Folds under China's Pressure by Kicking Rebiya's Film out of the Festival
a-gu,
I might have posted an incorrect link to my article earlier, not sure.
Kaoshiung Folds under China's Pressure to Kick Rebiya's Film out of the Festival
Raj,
Certainly not giving up ;) Just feeling particularly discouraged.
I agree that in the big scheme of things, a film is small. But is exactly its relative insignificance and the fact that it is a freedom of art/speech sort of issue that makes this capitulation all the more disturbing.
If even a DPP government in Kaohsiung is going to basically censor a film (that lots of people want to see) just so the Chinese press won't make too many headlines about it, what is left to count as sacred?
what is left to count as sacred?
Taiwanese film?
Meh, soft reunification is better than hard reunification. If the stubborn Cantonese could do it, I'm sure Taiwan can do it better :P
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