Skip to main content

Blossoming Controversy

Wong Kar-wai’s acclaimed drama “Blossoms” faces screenwriter credit controversy amid workplace bullying allegations and legal disputes.
|

The 2023 Chinese television drama “Blossoms” (繁花), directed by Hong Kong film legend Wong Kar-wai (王家卫), won plaudits for its sole credited screenwriter, Qin Wen (秦雯). But the series faced its own drama last week as anonymous writer “Gu Er” (古二) alleged they were denied acknowledgement for their involvement and faced workplace bullying. Gu Er released recordings on WeChat claiming to have written significant script portions while receiving only 3,000 yuan monthly and no screenwriting credit. The production team issued a September 20 Weibo statement supporting “creators’ legal rights” without addressing any concrete allegations. Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao reported that Qin Wen has engaged lawyers and called the allegations false and defamatory.

More Stories from this Region

Thirty-Seven Years On, a Wound That Never Closed

A former star of Chinese state television turns her camera on a Taiwanese journalist wounded in the Tiananmen crackdown — and on the limits of what witnesses could say a…

Censoring the Metaverse

Facebook and Instagram remove a post marking the 14th anniversary of Tiananmen activist Li Wangyang’s death.

Swipe Right for the Motherland

When China’s flagship official newspaper introduces a dating app and starts hosting singles mixers for troops and government workers, you know the demographic issue has…

Trapped in China

A Taiwanese publisher has completed his prison sentence but remains stuck in China, as the CCP uses his case as a warning to those who publish books it does not like.

Xianzi Silenced, Again

One of China’s most prominent feminist activists once again has had her Weibo account banned as authorities continue to suppress the voices of the country’s #MeToo movem…

Relaying Global News for Hong Kong

With press freedom under strain in the territory, a small start-up outlet is betting that readers still have an appetite for balanced international news stories in trans…

Country and Regional Context

BACK TO MAP