Public power not necessary on personal views

Movie director Chen Kaige reportedly received a stern rebuke and the demand of an apology from an official with the Chinese Taoist Association last week, because his latest movie "Taoist Priest Goes Down the Mountain" "wantonly demonized Taoism and Taoists". The association later denied the report. The dispute followed a public apology by Chinese comedian Jia Ling, who was criticized for impersonating China's legendary female warrior Hua Mulan as an incompetent cowardly woman in a recent comedy show. Comments:

A movie may receive starkly different ratings from audiences based on their own understanding of it. Judging a movie by one or two of its details, to some extent, is abducting public opinion. For a publicly screened movie which has been granted legal access to cinemas, it should not be withdrawn just because of a few complaints against it.

Beijing News, July 20