Chinese journalist jailed for criticizing patriotic Korean War movie
The film deals with one of the chapters of the Korean War when Chinese soldiers managed to repel American forces on a battlefield in North Korea in the face of a severe cold.
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The Chinese movie "Battle of Changjin Lake", which deals with the Korean War (1950-1953), broke the record for revenue in the giant Asian country, while the authorities arrested a journalist who criticized his country's participation in this conflict.
The film, which premiered on the occasion of the Chinese National Day on October 1, overthrew the patriotic movie "Wolf Warrior 2", which was also shown in 2017. The "Maoyan" ticket platform indicated, the day before yesterday, that its revenues amounted to 5.6 billion yuan (876 billion yuan). Million dollars).
The film deals with one of the chapters of the Korean War, when Chinese soldiers managed to repel American forces in a battlefield in North Korea, in light of a severe cold.
Although the former North Korean leader, Kim Il-sung, was behind the outbreak of this war, it is known in China as the "War of Resistance to American Aggression and Aid to Korea".
Chinese forces entered the war in support of North Korea, which was on the verge of defeat by the United Nations forces led by the United States.
While relations between China and the United States are experiencing renewed tension, President Xi Jinping's regime encourages patriotism.
A law passed in 2018 stipulates a prison sentence for anyone who offends revolutionary heroes.
In this sense, the authorities arrested a former journalist a few days after the release of the film, after he questioned on social networks the feasibility of the Chinese intervention in Korea, which led to the deaths of 200 thousand people, according to Beijing, while the Americans assert that the number is much greater.
"After more than half a century, the Chinese have not yet begun to think about the justification for this war," wrote Luo Changping, the former editor-in-chief of Caijing magazine, who was famous for raising issues of corruption.
And soon, the censors deleted his comment from his account on the social network Weibo, which has more than two million followers.
Police in the southern province of Hainan said he was arrested on charges of "insulting the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs".
If convicted, 40-year-old Luo Changping could be sentenced to three years in prison.
Chinese films make up the vast majority of the works shown in cinemas in China, while the number of foreign films allowed to be shown annually is limited to 34, which are carefully selected.
• A law passed in 2018 stipulates a prison sentence for anyone who offends revolutionary heroes.
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