‘MISSING JOHNNY’ BANNED
Chinese authorities have decided to ban Taiwan film
Missing Johnny, originally slated for April 13, in response to accusations that lead actor Lawrence Ko supports “Taiwan independence,” announced An Fengshan, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, at a press conference on Wednesday.
“Movies starring Taiwan stars who are supportive of ‘Taiwan independence’ or have ever said or acted in support of ‘Taiwan independence’ are not permitted in the Chinese mainland,” An said in response to a question about the film from Hong Kong media outlet China Review.
With veteran Taiwan director Hou Hsiao-hsien as executive producer, the 2017 film from Taiwan director Huang Xi and starring Taiwan stars Lawrence Ko and Rima Zeidan follows the stories of three young people living in Taipei. Ko, star of Taiwan films A
Brighter Summer Day and Yi Yi, was accused by mainland netizens of supporting “Taiwan independence” along with his father, Taiwan director Ko I-chen.
Many Chinese mainland netizens showed their support for the government announcement by leaving comments such as “twohands-up in support of this policy” and “Well-done!” under the news posted on mainland news sites and Sina Weibo on Wednesday.
This is not the first time that mainland authorities have banned films starring Taiwan stars who have been accused of supporting “Taiwan independence.”
TV series My Dear Boy, produced and starring renowned Taiwan actress Ruby Lin, was removed from mainland streaming platform Tencent Video in early January because the show “advocated Taiwan independence,” according to a report from website 163.com.
A statement released by Lin’s studio in early January confirmed that the studio had received financial aid from culture authority of Taiwan, but it said that acceptance of the aid did not mean that the show or Lin stands for “Taiwan independence.”
The series returned to the platform 18 days later, the Global Times reported in late January. Neither the platform or the star’s studio has issued statements concerning the show’s return.