By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) yesterday denied reports that she had apologized over her proposal to scrap the Golden Horse Awards after Taiwan’s poor showing this year.
Earlier in the day, Kuan said she would shoulder all the responsibility for the comments, adding that the organizing committee, as well as the Ministry of Culture, should also be scrutinized for their performance.
However, in a text message to reporters last night, she denied apologizing for her comments and said she would willingly subject herself to public scrutiny for her remarks.
Kuan and another DPP lawmaker, Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), were both panned by workers in the movie industry for saying that Taiwan should stop holding the annual awards after local films won only two of the 19 major categories — best actress and best new director.
Kuan said she only spoke for herself, not the DPP, adding that Lin did not propose scrapping the awards.
Lin denied making such a proposal and said on Tuesday that the Ministry of Culture had failed to present a clear policy on Taiwan’s film industry.
Kuan said she initiated the idea for public discussion out of good intention — and not to stimulate a political war of rhetoric.
However, Kuan, who served as head of then-Kaohsiung City’s culture department prior to becoming a lawmaker, said she has her own views about the direction of Taiwan’s film industry.
DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said the party does not support scrapping the award.
“We have to ask ourselves why Taiwan fared worse in [the] awards and encourage the film industry to work harder and provide them with more resources,” Su said.