Formosa Betrayed, the first US-made movie devoted to a storyline set during the White Terror era, is scheduled for theatrical release in Taiwan by Sky Digi Entertainment Co this August, the film’s producer said.
“Since before the movie was completed, thousands of fans have wondered when it would be released in Taiwan. Now, we are excited to announce that the film is scheduled to be in Taiwanese theaters beginning the weekend of August 6, 2010,” Taiwanese-American filmmaker William Tiao (刁毓能) said in an open letter issued on Friday.
“Sky Digi is also actively seeking another city aside from Taipei to premiere the film so that as many Taiwanese can see the film,” the letter said, adding that “the theatrical release, premiere and other public activities are subject to the review of the Governmental Information Office.”
The movie is a political thriller that tells the fictional story of the murder of a Taiwanese-American professor on US soil. James Van Der Beek, of Dawson’s Creek fame, stars as an FBI agent investigating the murder.
Written and produced by Tiao, the film was inspired by actual events surrounding the death of Chen Wen-chen (陳文成), a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and critic of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government at the time, who died under suspicious circumstances during a visit to Taiwan in 1981, and that of Journalist Henry Liu (劉宜良), who was killed by gangsters allegedly working for the Taiwanese government in Daly City, California, in 1984.
Liu had written an unflattering biography of then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), the son of dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).
The film opened in the US on the weekend of Feb. 28 and has been screened in more than 30 selected cities including New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, and Honolulu.
This independent film was largely financed by the Taiwanese-American community.
“The story of the Taiwanese people’s struggle for identity, justice and independence has never been told in a Hollywood film,” Tiao said earlier this year.
“Our hope was that the film would be a springboard for discussion about the issues surrounding Taiwan’s status and the Taiwanese people’s desire for democracy and recognition,” he said.
Weather conditions across Taiwan are expected to remain stable today, but cloudy to rainy skies are expected from tomorrow onward due to increasing moisture in the atmosphere, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). Daytime highs today are expected to hit 25-27°C in western Taiwan and 22-24°C in the eastern counties of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung, data on the CWA website indicated. After sunset, temperatures could drop to 16-17°C in most parts of Taiwan. For tomorrow, precipitation is likely in northern Taiwan as a cloud system moves in from China. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 25°C, the CWA said. Starting Monday, areas
A Taiwanese software developer has created a generative artificial intelligence (AI) model to help people use AI without exposing sensitive data, project head Huang Chung-hsiao (黃崇校) said yesterday. Huang, a 55-year-old coder leading a US-based team, said that concerns over data privacy and security in popular generative AIs such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek motivated him to develop a personal AI assistant named “Mei.” One of the biggest security flaws with cloud-based algorithms is that users are required to hand over personal information to access the service, giving developers the opportunity to mine user data, he said. For this reason, many government agencies and
The National Fire Agency on Thursday said a series of drills simulating a magnitude 8.5 earthquake would be held in September to enhance the government’s emergency response capabilities. Since earthquakes cannot be predicted, only by continuously promoting disaster prevention measures could Taiwan enhance its resilience to earthquakes, agency Director-General Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章) said in a news release. The exercises would be held to mark annual National Disaster Prevention Day on Sept. 21, the aim of which is to test Taiwan’s preparedness and improve its earthquake resilience in case of a major temblor, Hsiao said. As part of those drills, an earthquake alert would
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
RSS