Dubbed the Oscars of Chinese-language films, the 55th Golden Horse Awards ceremony held last night in Taipei ignited a war of words about Taiwan''s status. Taiwanese director Fu Yu, upon accepting the best documentary award for a film about the 2014 Sunflower Movement, declared that her greatest wish as a Taiwanese was that one day Taiwan might be treated as an independent entity. Luminaries in the Chinese movie industry hit back by categorizing Taiwan as part of China, leading this year''s Golden Horse Chairman director Ang Lee to step in to cool things down. Fu YuDocumentary Director "I really hope one day our country will be recognised and treated as a truly independent entity. This is my biggest wish as a Taiwanese."Fu, the winner of best documentary award for “Our Youth in Taiwan,” said in her acceptance speech that her greatest wish was that Taiwan be independent. Tu Men Chinese Actor and Previous Golden Horse Award WinnerI am especially honored to come to the Golden Horse Awards ceremony in Taiwan, China, as a guest of honor. This time, on seeing so many familiar faces and getting in touch with so many friends, I feel that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. Tu Men, last year’s winner of the best leading actor award, seemed to be responding to Fu’s talk of Taiwan independence. Ang LeeGolden Horse Awards Executive Committee Chairman We are free here in Taiwan. The ceremony is open. If anyone loves to say something, they can say it. We can’t tell you what to say or tell you what to do. Everyone here is our guest, whether local or foreign. If you come to the Golden Horse Award ceremony, art is purely art. We don’t want to see any kind of political interference. I hope everyone can respect this point. Even though Lee strongly put across his point of view, the political controversies continued to bubble. There were suspicions that Chinese artists were all under pressure, as many put statements on social media saying not even a small part of China should be removed. On the other hand, Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chun posted a statement on Facebook saying: this place is Taiwan, not “Taiwan, China,” in defense of Taiwanese film makers’ rights to free speech.

• published: 19 Nov 2018
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