Award winner 'wanted to see Hong Kong film improve'
The recipient of a controversial critic's award says her purpose in writing the winning review was to push for an improvement in Hong Kong film. But Jia Xuanning, 24, a journalist with pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po, declined to comment on whether she had connections with two of the six judges of the Arts Development Council's first Critic's Prize.
The recipient of a controversial critic's award says her purpose in writing the winning review was to push for an improvement in Hong Kong film.
But Jia Xuanning, 24, a journalist with pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po, declined to comment on whether she had connections with two of the six judges of the Arts Development Council's first Critic's Prize.
"I don't think I have to reply to this question," Jia said when asked whether she thought she won the HK$50,000 prize fairly. "You should ask the organiser."
Questions of conflict of interest arose when it emerged that Jia also writes for Yazhou Zhoukan, whose chief editor, Yau Lop-poon, was one of the judges while another judge, Perry Lam, is a columnist at the magazine.
Jia's review of Hong Kong director Pang Ho-cheung's film Vulgaria was also controversial because it accused the movie of having degraded mainlanders to make Hongkongers feel good.
The movie "presented the narrowness, opportunism and pretentiousness of Hong Kong society", she wrote.