Feng Xiaogang removed from Jia Zhangke film

A five-minute scene starring Chinese director and actor Feng Xiaogang has been removed from Chinese director Jia Zhangke's film Ash Is Purest White, which is scheduled to hit Chinese mainland theaters on Friday.

The film's mainland edition, screened at its Beijing premiere on Sunday, is five minutes shorter than the original edition that premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival in May as it lacks a scene in which Feng plays a doctor.

Back in mid-August, the scene was still part of the film when it was shown at a mediaonly screening event held in Beijing.

Feng's name has also been removed from the film's posters, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Sunday.

In response to an inquiry by the Global Times, the film's producers issued a statement from Jia in which the director described his feelings concerning the removal as “complicated.”

The statement did not reveal why the scene has been omitted from the film.

The two directors have a close working relationship.

In November 2017, Feng attended the first Pingyao International Film Festival, which Jia founded, in North China's Shanxi Province.

Some industry analysts have indicated that the removal might be tied to the increasing negative press surrounding Feng's alleged involvement in a tax evasion scheme.

The rumor began running rampant after Chinese TV host Cui Yongyuan exposed the practice of yin-yang contracts (where a star submits a lowfigure contract to tax authorities while actually earning more from a secret high-value contract) in China's entertainment industry in late May.

Feng denied the rumors in a Sina Weibo post on September 9, saying “there is evidence” that proves he has never been involved in the use of yin-yang contracts.

Following Cui's report, China's State Administration of Taxation launched an investigation into yin-yang contracts in June, according to China Central Television.