Could the Chinese film industry be the biggest loser from Beijing’s ban on Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards?

Beijing says last year’s ‘Asian Oscars’ were politicised by forces supporting Taiwanese independence

Industry watchers say China is not doing its cinema talent any favours by keeping them away from prestigious Taipei event

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Taiwanese director Fu Yue (left) delivers a pro-independence speech at November’s Golden Horse Awards in Taipei as film producer Hong Ting Yi looks on. Photo: AP

Published: 8:00am, 22 Sep 2019Updated: 11:19pm, 22 Sep 2019

With eight weeks to go until the annual Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, Asia’s most prestigious film festival has become a casualty of the political tensions between mainland China and Taiwan.

Dubbed the “Asian Oscars”, the awards are the annual showcase event for the best in Chinese-language cinema, and a place for low-budget independent films to break into the mainstream.

But in August, the China Film Administration said no mainland filmmakers or their films would be allowed to take part in this year’s festival on November 23.

The regulator said offenders would be put on a “watch list” and their films banned from the mainland, the world’s second-biggest movie market.

Mainland authorities did not give a reason at the time for the ban. But at last year’s ceremony, Taiwanese director Fu Yue said in her acceptance speech for best documentary that she hoped the self-governing island would one day become “truly independent”.

The speech attracted swift condemnation from the Global Times, a state media tabloid, and the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Beijing’s top body responsible for Taiwan policy.