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Film director may
face legal woes
ZUOYING VISIT: Chinese photographer Cao Yu was
part of the production team that director Doze Niu took on a location scouting
trip to a naval base for a film
By Wu Ming-chieh and Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter, with staff
writer and CNA
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it had not ruled out
taking legal action against film director Doze Niu (鈕承澤) for helping a Chinese
photographer enter a military base and board a navy vessel.
Navy Command Headquarters said Niu and a 23-member production team visited the
Zuoying (左營) military port in Greater Kaohsiung on June 1 to scout for locations
for his new film, Military Paradise (軍中樂園), which is scheduled to begin shooting
next month.
Although security officers asked to look at the team members’ national ID cards
before they entered the port, the military later discovered that Chinese
photographer Cao Yu (曹郁) had entered the base by using the identity of a
Republic of China (ROC) citizen, the headquarters said.
Niu and his team boarded an LST-208 vessel, but were only allowed to take
photographs of part of the outdated ship, the headquarters said.
The ministry said it had warned Niu against violating regulations governing the
protection of military secrets two times before his visit.
The navy said yesterday that it would review the incident to see if there had
been any negligence on its part, adding that it would turn over evidence about
the team’s visit to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office today for an
investigation.
When reached for comment yesterday morning, ministry spokesman Major General
David Lo (羅紹和) said the ministry would take legal action against Niu if he broke
the law.
“Given that Niu’s actions violated the principle of good faith and our agreement
that no Chinese citizens would enter the military base, the ministry is
considering whether to end its assistance for his film shoot,” Lo said.
The military has provided assistance to several TV stations and movie companies
in producing shows and films with military links in the past, and none had ever
violated regulations, Lo said.
Niu offered an apology on his Facebook page yesterday.
“I might have gone overboard in order to make a better film,” he wrote.
“The recent events have given me a chance to reflect on myself. Film directors
always resort to every conceivable means to make a good movie, but it is about
time that we do some self-reflection. I should be more humble and gentle, and
should be more grateful and respectful of everything,” he wrote.
Sources familiar with the law said Cao could be guilty of document forgery and
violating Article 10 of the Vital Area Regulations (要塞堡壘地帶法) if he entered the
port using a ROC citizen’s ID card.
Cao may have also violated Article 111 of the Criminal Code and the National
Security Act (國家安全法) if he photographed or filmed other naval facilities, the
sources said.
Under Article 111, any person who illegally gathers information concerning the
defense of the ROC could face imprisonment.
Cao has twice won photography awards at the Golden Horse movie festival.
Additional reporting by AP
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