Poster of The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon, a crime film from Taiwan Photo: Courtesy of Douban

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said that people across the Straits are all the same family and share the same language, as such it’s especially easy for them to empathize with each other.

Chen made the statement during a regular press conference held by the Taiwan Affairs Office on Wednesday.

The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon, a crime film from Taiwan released in the Chinese mainland on March 1, has been very well received by audiences in the mainland due to its black humor and dark thrills. The crime thriller featuring Ethan Juan was directed by Hong Kong director Wong Ching-po. It was first released in Taiwan in October. As of Tuesday, it had earned more than 400 million yuan ($55.61 million) at the mainland box office.

A reporter from Taiwan asked what the spokesperson thought of Taiwan movies becoming popular in the mainland. The reporter also pointed out that the mainland TV drama Blossoms Shanghai has also sparked a craze in Taiwan and asked how cross-Straits exchanges in film, television and culture can be further advanced.

Chen stated that the movie and the TV drama have both earned good reputations across the Straits. “This shows that people across the Straits share the same language and are of the same family, making it especially easy to empathize with each other.”

China has consistently supported and actively promoted the exchange and cooperation of film and television between Taiwan and the mainland. Professionals in the industry from Taiwan are welcome and encouraged to come to the Chinese mainland to explore their options, he added.

Chen noted that Wang Jing (Gingle Wang), the leading actress of the movie, said in an interview with media from Taiwan that she hadn’t expected the mainland box office to exceed 400 million yuan.

“What I want to say is that the vastness of the mainland is something that many artists from Taiwan cannot imagine, and it is also something they yearn for. We hope that the film and television communities across the Straits can further strengthen cooperation, create more works that are loved by people across the Straits, join hands to promote Chinese culture, enrich the leisure life of people across the Straits, promote the common development of the film and television industry across the Straits, and strengthen and expand the film and television industry of China,” he said.