Ted Cruz congratulated Taiwan on Double Ten Day and urged the U.S. to increase engagement with the country building a stronger diplomatic relationship.

Ted Cruz, Republican US Senator, issued a statement on Friday 9th October to celebrate Double Ten Day in order to appeal to loosen US restrictions on Taiwanese diplomacy. Cruz remarked Taiwan was gritty under the increasing hostility from Chinese Communist Party, and that USA was proud to stand with Taiwan.

Ted Cruz said on Friday that he was honoured to have participated in last years celebration of Double Ten Day with Taiwan President, Tsai Ing-Wen. As Taiwan Facing the growing hostility of Chinese Communist Party(CCP) in Beijing, they have stayed tenacious against CCP’s oppression. Cruz has stated during he’s visit to Taiwan for the first time and that “the USA was very honoured to stand with Taiwan people.” During his visit he also celebrated the national day of the Republic of China (ROC) in October last year. It was a momentous occasion as he was the first US Senator who joined celebration of Double Ten Day in 35 years.

In his statement Cruz pointed out that the PRC has spent substantial resources and time to isolate Taiwan, including attempting to shape public opinion of Taiwan in US. He has also criticised Hollywood on succumbing to CCP’s demands such as removal of national flags of Taiwan and Japan from jackets of actors or actresses in movies.

Source: Apple Daily #Oct10

https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20201010/JEAIZRVQO5FARBXAGM6ZLZV3HE/

#UnitedStates #TedCruz #CCP #Taiwan #ROC #Hollywood #censorship #NationalDay #DoubleTenDay

Film Star Chow Yun-fat Thanks Fellow #Hongkongers in Congregation Ceremony

Hong Kong actor Chow Yun-fat received a honary doctoral degree in humanities at Hong Kong Baptist University on August 7, 2021.

In his speech, Chow humorously recalled the different stages of his acting career, from television to cinema, Hong Kong to Hollywood.

Chow especially thanked the support, encouragement and affection extended by Hongkongers. "I need to thank Hong Kong as a place which bestowed on me wisedom and love. Thank you, Hongkongers. Thank you, Hong Kong."

Source: InMedia #Aug7

#ChowYunFat #Actor #Celebrity #Hollywood #HongKongCinema

China rumoured banning Hollywood films to counter the US diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Spider-Man and Matrix may not be released in China.

The United States announced on 6 Dec that they would not send government officials to the Beijing Winter Olympics as part of a diplomatic boycott. China's Foreign Ministry responded that if the US persists in its policy, "China will take firm countermeasures".

Rumours on Weibo on 9 Dec saying China will suspend the release of Hollywood films as the first wave of counter-measures in response to the US boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Perhaps, the first to be hit is the highly anticipated "Spider-Man: No Way Home".

A Weibo user commented on 8 Dec, "The news just came in that all US films have been suspended (except those already scheduled)". He said that Spider-Man was originally scheduled to release at 10:00 yesterday, but in response to the US boycott of the Winter Olympics, "the notice to suspend US films came down at 9:57...", meaning that Spider-Man will be banned completely.

Rumours are circulating online that the China State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has suspended the release of US blockbusters in China. The blockbusters include Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Matrix Resurrections, which will be released in Hong Kong on Christmas Day. Media outlets across the country have also been ordered not to publicise any US films.

Source: The Stand News #Dec09

#China #US #BeijingWinterOlympics #Olympics #DiplomaticBoycott #Hollywood #Film

#CCPCensorship
Ending of Fight Club Restored in China

#FightClub, a 1999-film directed by #DavidFincher and starred by #BradPitt and #EdwardNorton, was streamed by #TencentVideo in China but with a very different ending. The change of ending to satisfy Chinese censorship has created backlash from film fans around the world.

Finally, the Chinese streaming platform restored the original ending to the film, instead of telling the viewers that the police had "rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals."

Source: RFA #Feb8
https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/news/end-02082022040540.html

#Hollywood #Cinema

#Censorship
#China requests shots of Statue of Liberty be removed in #Spiderman: No Way Home; declined by #SONY

Confirmed by multiple sources, CBR.com quoted a passage from puck.news stating the Chinese authority requested shots of the Statue of Liberty in the latest Spiderman film No Way Home be removed.

China's request was allegedly caused by the multiple shots of the main character #TomHolland standing on top of the crown of the Statue of Liberty. According to China, it was a showcase of ‘American patriotism’. SONY allegedly refused such request immediately.

Doubtlessly, losing the Chinese market did not affect the box office of this movie much, as the Spideman film was ranked the sixth highest-selling movie in the film industry.

Based on multiple sources, the latest Doctor Strange movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, would also not be shown in China because of the appearance of ‘The Epoch Times’ in the movie. If this is the case, #DoctorStrange would be the sixth #Marvel movie that was censored by China, consecutively.

[The other five were: Black Widow, Eternals, Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home]

Nonetheless, the latest Doctor Strange movie will still be aired in Hong Kong.

Source: Strait Times; CBR #May2

https://www.straitstimes.com/life/entertainment/doctor-strange-sequel-may-be-latest-marvel-film-not-released-in-china-due-to-backlash

https://www.cbr.com/spider-man-no-way-home-china-statue-of-liberty-sony-refuse/

#Hollywood #Cinema #ChinaMarket #StatueofLiberty