TAIPEI: Taipei City's sponsorship of a movie set in the city's Wanhua district has sparked controversy, with local residents criticizing the film for tarnishing the area's image.

The city government offered an NT$4 million grant to the filmmaker to make the movie, hoping that it would enhance the city's profile.

Critics argue, however, that the film, titled "Monga," the Hoklo name for the district, features prostitutes and gangsters and harks back to the district's dark past, which local residents are eager to forget.

Monday's United Daily News quoted Cingshan borough chief Lee Chao-cheng as saying that the film is fraught with sex and violence and does not fairly depict Wanhua.

"It blemishes the whole district," Lee told the daily. "I have been living here for 54 years. Gangsters' turf wars and prostitution are a small part of the district's history, and we have tried hard to get rid of them, but the film will undo our efforts."

City officials defended the decision, and Mayor Hau Lung-bin was cited by the United Daily News as urging critics to be patient.

"They should voice their opinions after they have watched it," Hau said.

Meanwhile, vice mayor and Department of Cultural Affairs commissioner Lee Yung-ping said the city government respects the filmmaker's artistic freedom and also asked the public to reserve judgment on whether the movie presents Wanhua in a positive or negative light until the film is completed next January.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 12/02/2009 page2)