Taiwanese film director faces probe over naval base ploy
Doze Niu Chen-zer could be prosecuted for allegedly taking a Chinese cinematographer onto a Taiwanese naval base
Acclaimed Taiwanese director Doze Niu faces prosecution for allegedly using false papers to take a Chinese cinematographer onto a Taiwanese naval base to scout film locations, the military said on Thursday.
Niu and award-winning cinematographer Cao Yu are accused of violating a law that bans Chinese nationals from entering military facilities, the navy said.
The navy said it had decided to withdraw all assistance to Niu for his upcoming movie Military Paradise and would report the case to prosecutors to start a formal investigation.
“We regret the incident and we will punish those responsible according to the regulations. We will intensify checks on visitors to prevent similar cases from happening again,” it said in a statement.
We regret the incident and we will punish those responsible
Niu, known for Monga and Love starring Shu Qi, had repeatedly applied to the military to take Cao with him to scout locations at a naval base in Kaohsiung city but was rejected.
However, Cao got into the base in June with the rest of Niu’s crew by allegedly using a Taiwanese citizen’s identity card and also boarded a naval ship, according to the authorities.