{"id":1548909,"date":"2024-03-12T07:52:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T07:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/china\/china-gangster-film-taiwan-communist-xi-cult-03122024034710.html"},"modified":"2024-03-12T07:52:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T07:52:00","slug":"taiwanese-film-that-eliminates-three-evils-takes-china-by-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2024\/03\/12\/taiwanese-film-that-eliminates-three-evils-takes-china-by-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"Taiwanese film that \u2018Eliminates Three Evils\u2019 takes China by storm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n \n
The Taiwanese gangster film, The Pig, The Snake and The Pigeon, has hit the bull in the eye with mainland Chinese moviegoers who saw the cult featured in the movie as an allusion to the Chinese Communist Party.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In less than a week of its release in China, it has chalked up close to 370 million yuan (US$51.55 million) in box office, received more than 580,000 reviews and earned an 8.1 high score on Douban, a social media site with streaming service. The film, currently streaming on Netflix, only sold NT$50 million (US$1.59 million) in Taiwan when it was released in October 2023.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some scholars have attributed the popularity of this violent film in China to reflect the public\u2019s distrust of the Chinese judiciary. The plot of the movie also exposes lawlessness in the society through labor exploitation and fraud that resonated with the economic hardships that Chinese citizens currently face.<\/span><\/p>\n The film\u2019s Chinese title \u201cZhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils\u201d pays homage to Zhou Chu, a Western Jin-era Chinese general reputed for his uprightness and integrity. Zhou sought to kill a tiger and a dragon that terrorized his hometown. The third evil referred to himself when he was a cruel and violent ruffian in his youth.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The movie\u2019s protagonist is a notorious hitman and gangster Chen Kui-lin, who after learning that he has terminal lung cancer, wanted to leave his mark by taking out the two most wanted criminals ahead of him.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHave you heard the story of \u2018Zhou Chu Eliminates Three Evils\u2019? Everyone only remembers Zhou Chu, and no one will remember the two people he killed. So Zhou Chu is the person of value, and everyone remembers him,\u201d said Chen, who is played by Taiwanese actor Ethan Juan, in the movie.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cult Party?<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of Chen\u2019s two targets was a cult leader who was swindling money from cult followers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lai Rongwei, Taiwan Inspiration Association\u2019s chief executive officer, said the movie made it pass Chinese censors despite the violence and gore because the Chinese Communist Party wanted to warn citizens to be careful of religious gatherings.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lai said the CCP itself is a religion alienating the Chinese people, and the film\u2019s allusion of the cult, which constantly seeks donations from followers, to the Party coincided with what Chinese President Xi Jinping is doing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cXi Jinping constantly talks about \u2018common prosperity,\u2019 about how the private sector should contribute to society,\u201d said Lai.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Akio Yaita, Taipei bureau chief of the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun, believes that the movie passed Chinese censors because the film\u2019s underworld backdrop depicting the underbelly of Taiwanese society would illustrate Taiwan as a place where \u201cthe weak eat the strong and the people live in dire straits.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Taiwan is a self-governed democracy that China claims its own and has vowed to reclaim, even by force if needed.<\/span><\/p>\n