Despite pressure from Beijing and local tourism operators, the Kaohsiung City Government yesterday said a documentary on prominent Uighur independence activist Rebiya Kadeer would be screened at the upcoming Kaohsiung Film Festival as planned.
“The selection of the films at the festival was made by the film committee, an independent commission, months ago. We respect its decision,” said Hung Chih-kun (洪智坤), director of Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) office.
The city government held a meeting yesterday to discuss the matter after Chen returned from a business trip to Japan.
“On the principle of respecting art, creativity and freedom of speech, the documentary will be screened as scheduled,” Chen said yesterday, adding that the city government would work with the tourism industry to attract more tourists to the city.
The screening of the film, however, will be brought forward to Tuesday and Wednesday.
The director-general of the city government’s Information Office, Hsu Li-ming (??, said the pending screening had caused great controversy, and that it would be unfair to the other 78 films to screen the film during the festival.
“The Kaohsiung Film Festival does not begin until Oct. 16 and we do not want the protests to drag on until then, we will show the film in advance,” he said.
Representatives of the tourism industry in Kaohsiung had called on the city government to remove the documentary The 10 Conditions of Love from the film festival, citing low hotel occupancy rates in the city as the result of Chinese tourist groups canceling hotel and restaurant reservations and trips.
According to Lin Kun-shan (林崑山), the chief of the city’s tourism bureau, however, the occupancy rate of hotels has dropped nationwide because of the recession and the devastation wrought by Typhoon Morakot.
“From January to August this year, the rate declined by 10 percent in Taipei City and Hualien County compared with the same period last year. In Kaoshiung City, it dropped by between 3 percent and 5 percent,” Lin said.
Hung said the city government had talked to representatives from the tourism industry on Friday and decided to stick to its decision to screen the documentary at the festival.
“Kaohsiung is a city that enshrines human rights and art should be above politics,” Hung said.
The Executive Yuan maintained a neutral stance on the issue yesterday after remarks by Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) the previous day were deemed as opposing the screening of the film.
On Friday, when fielding a question from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chu Feng-chih (朱鳳芝) about the potential decline in the numbers of Chinese tourists because of the screening, Wu made an analogy that drew criticism.
“[It’s an issue of] how to get along with people. You want me to shop more in your store, but you do things that make me feel uncomfortable. Then I will not go to your store,” Wu said.
Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) downplayed Wu’s comments yesterday by saying that Wu was describing Taiwan’s predicament of dealing with cross-strait relations and relations with the international community.
“The Executive Yuan’s position is that the government will not interfere, regardless of the predicament,” Su said.
“We are a country that has independent sovereignty and freedom of speech. It is out of the question that the government could interfere with or prohibit the screening of a film,” Su said.
At a separate setting yesterday, Freddy Lim (林昶佐), president of civic group Guts United Taiwan, said the group had sent a letter inviting Kadeer to visit Taiwan.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY DPA
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
SOLUTIONS NEEDED: Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers due to population decline, the minister of economic affairs said in Washington President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration is considering a plan to import labor to deal with an impending shortage of engineers and other highly skilled workers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in Washington on Tuesday. Kuo was leading a delegation attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit. Taiwan must attract about 400,000 to 500,000 skilled foreign workers for high-end manufacturing jobs by 2040, he said. Ministry of Economic Affairs officials are still calculating the precise number of workers that are needed, as it works on loosening immigration restrictions and creating incentives, Kuo said. Taiwanese firms operating factories in the US and other countries would