Taiwan Official Mocks Beijing Over 'Letter to Grandma,' Calls It a "United Front" Film

"A Letter to Grandma," a Chinese film in the Teochew dialect that Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao newspaper has labeled a "united front" production, tells the story of a grandmother in southern China's Teochew region who waits for her husband who went overseas and never returned. Her grandson travels to Thailand to search for the grandfather, uncovering the story of "qiaopi" — the letters and remittances sent home by overseas Chinese. A spokesman for Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office recently called the film a shared memory for compatriots on both sides of the strait, expressing hope that Taiwanese audiences would recognize that people on both sides share a common culture and the same emotions.

Responding at a regular Mainland Affairs Council press conference on Thursday afternoon, spokesman Liang Wen-chieh said the film has not yet been released in Taiwan, so officials do not know how well it was made. However, he noted that judging from related reports, there are many films with this kind of theme, so it is nothing remarkable.

Liang then quipped that as soon as the Taiwan Affairs Office comments on it, the film becomes a "united front" production. Had the office said nothing, people might have gone to see it simply in the spirit of watching an ordinary film. But once the office spoke up, the film took on a political tint. "So we believe films should be treated as films, and the Taiwan Affairs Office had better talk less," he said.

Separately, under a memorandum of cooperation signed at the Taipei-Shanghai twin-city forum, the Taipei Zoo and the Shanghai Zoo exchanged two red pandas, which made their public debut for the first time on Wednesday. However, it was reported that a Shanghai delegation had wanted to attend the event but was turned down by the Mainland Affairs Council over "united front" concerns. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an voiced displeasure, saying, "What does an exchange of small animals have to do with the united front?"

Liang explained that the application list originally submitted by the Taipei City Government included a total of 18 people from the mainland, among them the director and deputy director of a Taiwan Affairs Office, Shanghai official media, a Shanghai deputy secretary-general, and personnel from various bureaus and departments such as the water authority, the transportation commission, the greening management bureau and the zoo.

Liang further pointed out that as far as the Mainland Affairs Council is concerned, if it were purely a zoo-related exchange involving more specialized personnel — such as those from the zoo, the greening management bureau and the water authority — "we could all agree to that." But the director and deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, along with Shanghai official media and the Shanghai deputy secretary-general, were deemed unsuitable to visit Taiwan given the current cross-strait situation and Beijing's various acts of suppression against Taiwan. The council also communicated with the Taipei City Government.

Liang stressed that of the list of 18 people proposed by the Taipei City Government, the Mainland Affairs Council agreed to allow 13 to visit Taiwan, but the Taipei City Government did not submit a further application afterward. If it were simply a zoo exchange, having personnel from the relevant departments come to exchange views and share experience on their work would be sufficient, with no need for personnel responsible for united front work to take part. "But the Taipei City Government was clearly not very satisfied with such an arrangement, so it did not submit another application afterward," he said.

Source: Mirror Daily — https://www.mirrordaily.news/story/76492