Golden Horse Awards political damp squib

AFTER FILMMAKERS from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong announced they would not participate in this year's Golden Horse Film Festival because of its pro-independence remarks and deeds of some participants last year, some sponsors such as Bvlgari, Oppo and Piaget have reportedly pulled out too. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

As one popular online joke goes: "Local Taiwan filmmakers should celebrate - they will be sure to win all the Golden Horse Awards."

The reason is clear: With their colleagues from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong not competing, the Golden Horse Awards, which have built a reputation for being the most influential awards for Chinese-language films, have become a contest for local Taiwan filmmakers only.