China’s tightening supervision of its film and television industries has widened the gap between Chinese and Western content, and has led to a loss of funding and talent in the country, a report by the Mainland Affairs Council said.
China’s Film Administration on Nov. 9 last year released a five-year plan for the development of Chinese films, saying that all films should “praise the Chinese Communist Party [CCP], praise the motherland, praise the people and praise the heroes,” aiming to establish China as a center for filmmaking by 2035.
Movies nominated for Best Picture at the Golden Rooster Awards last year mostly reflected the CCP’s dominant ideology, the council said in its Fourth Quarter Report on the Situation in Mainland China.
Photo: Reuters
The Golden Roosters are China’s top film awards.
The nominations sparked debate on China’s Sina Weibo social media platform, with people voicing concern over the future of Chinese movies, the report said.
The Chinese government has increased its effort to prevent the infiltration of Western values through film and television programs, especially those considered to offend China, the report said.
Tightened restrictions on content also affect the local industry, as Chinese studios interested in telling the stories of the country’s history and people are deterred by unreasonable demands from the government to present its ideology, it said.
Additionally, film and television professionals in China said that as the regulations are unpredictable, promoting the productions in line with the government policies is the only way to guarantee profits, narrowing the development of the industry, the report said.
Professionals in the Chinese film industry said that box-office revenue dropped by one-third last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while TV drama productions had come to a virtual halt, the report said, adding that filmmakers and TV producers were deterred from taking advantage of online platforms as their freedom was curtailed by government regulations.
Chinese over-the-top operator iQiyi lost a significant number of subscribers due to a lack of new films, caused by the suspension or termination of drama productions, it said.
Other platforms such as Tencent, Kuaishou Technology and TikTok were also significantly affected, and many industry professionals changed careers, it added.
The five-year plan aims to extend China’s influence in the global film community, but it is not possible in the current industry environment, it said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS