Netflix drama Narco Saints cops flak for portraying Taiwanese actor as Chinese gang leader

Netflix crime drama Narco Saints has faced heat after Taiwanese actor Chang Chen, who starred as a ruthless Chinese gang leader in the film, was said to be insulting Chinese. In the film, Chen plays the ruthless Chinese gang leader who chops off a traitor’s hands and feet, and hangs the corpse at the gate of Chinatown. This has drawn heated discussions across Chinese social platforms as some netizens said the character played by Chen has undermined the image of Chinese, according to HK01.

Some Korean netizens responded by saying Netflix does not offer streaming services in China, which revealed the increased usage of pirate movies, said the report. The Korean drama series stars Ha Jung-woo, Hwang Jung-min and Park Hae-soo and marks the drama debut of acclaimed filmmaker Yoon Jong-bin.

Ha’s character is portrayed as a Korean businessman who opens a store in Suriname in South America and unwittingly becomes involved in the local crime scene when he is forced to cooperate with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to take down a drug king played by Hwang.

This isn't the first time Chinese netizens have reacted strongly to representations. Earlier in August, the recent video ad of luxury brand Chanel has drawn mixed reactions from Chinese netizens, with many questioning if the Asian model was chosen to belittle the Chinese citizens. The luxury brand published three video ads globally upon the launch of its “Hydra Beauty” skincare series, featuring white, black and Asian girls as models respectively.  However, the video with the Asian model was called out by Chinese netizens for choosing a model who they described as stereotyping Asian faces, and vilifying Asians. Many also called out her features such as wide eyes and nose. 

On the other hand, Paramount Pictures' restoration of the Taiwanese and Japanese flags on Tom Cruise's iconic aviation jacket featured in the latest Top Gun: Maverick movie has drawn mixed reactions - joy from Taiwanese viewers and anger from Chinese netizens earlier in June this year. 

In the 2019 version of the trailer, the Taiwanese flag was either missing or could not be seen properly. This led to speculation about whether the flag was removed to "satisfy demands from China's censors", Bloomberg reported. The jacket was worn by Cruise's character in the movie as a tribute to his late father. The Taiwanese flag, along with the Japanese one, served as a reference to his late father's service on the USS Galveston CLG-3 cruiser in the Pacific Ocean in the movie, Bloomberg explained. 

When the film was shown during an advance screening, however, the flag appeared on Cruise's jacket, leading to applause in cinemas, Bloomberg and Taiwanese media outlet SETN reported. On the other hand, Chinese netizens were angered by this move. According to Taiwan News, an English-language portal for news about Taiwan, one Chinese netizen said audiences in China can just watch pirated copies instead while another commented that the Chinese market wouldn't want anything to do with Cruise in future.

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