Chinese-American director Zhao Ting won the Best Director Award for her drama “The Wandering World” (Nomadland in mainland China), making her the first Chinese-American woman to win the award. The news of Zhao Ting’s win was blocked on the Chinese internet. However, the official media Global Times published a commentary in English, not forgetting the unification of war. The article said it hoped Zhao Ting would play a mediating role in both societies in an era of growing confrontation between China and the United States. But on Tuesday evening, the English-language editorial was removed.
In a 2013 interview with Filmmaker magazine, Zhao Ting said China was “a place of lies. Since then, Chinese media have called Zhao Ting an insult to China, and the original interview has been removed, and the release of “Wanderlust,” which was scheduled for April 23 in China, has reportedly been withdrawn.
The Global Times published an editorial in its English edition on Monday, titled “Wanderlust” reminds those caught in the middle of the U.S.-China confrontation to keep the faith. The article used Zhao Ting’s acceptance speech at the Oscars to draw a parallel to the political relationship between China and the United States. When Zhao Ting won the award, she said that the “goodness of nature” in the Three Character Classic she studied as a child was her attitude and perseverance in the face of adversity, and that the award was dedicated to those who have the faith and courage to persevere and believe in the good, no matter how difficult the situation is. The editorial says it agrees with Zhao Ting’s statement, adding that faith is also needed to walk through the difficult situation in the US-China relationship.
We hope she will become more and more mature,” the article added. In an era of growing confrontation between China and the United States, she can play a mediating role in both societies and avoid becoming a point of friction.”
The article, however, was published only in English and is quite different from previous statements made by Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times. Earlier, Hu Xijin had commented on the incident in a Weibo post, saying, “Sooner or later, you have to pay back for what you have done, Zhao Ting has said that, and now these are the storms and costs she should bear,” and describing netizens’ “anger and U-turns as normal.
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