“Friendly Fire” Script Irks Mainland Netizens
Although only four episodes of TVB drama, Friendly Fire <法網狙擊>, have been broadcast, the content in two episodes has already brought about a wave of political controversies with mainland China.
Starring Michael Tse (謝天華), Tavia Yeung (楊怡), Sammy Leung (森美), and Sharon Chan (陳敏之), the drama is the first production of producer, Man Wai Hung (文偉鴻). The script contained dialogue that appeared to shame the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Leung Chun Ying (梁振英). Another scene involving pregnant mainland Chinese women greatly offended mainland netizens, who criticized TVB and demanded for an apology.
Shaming the Chief Executive of Hong Kong?
In episode 3 of Friendly Fire, one scene featured police officer, Kam Po Tei (Sammy Leung) trying to toss trash into a nearby garbage can, but missed and sent it flying onto Ai Mei San’s (Sharon Chan) face. As a policewoman, she charged him and said, “Even if it was the Chief Executive who broke the law, the punishment is the same as all commoners.” This line was interpreted as shaming Leung Chun Ying, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, who has close ties to Beijing.
Another example happened in episode 4, where Kam Po Tei found out that Law Gai (Chung Chi Kwong 鍾志光), a dishonest agent, has been illegally changing the structures of apartment units in order to make more rooms for rent. Angrily, Kam Po Tei exclaims, “You won’t be off the hook even if you are the Chief Executive.” Again, his words seemed to shame Leung Chun Ying.
Mainland Netizens Offended and Demanded Apology
The scene in which an illegal mainland pregnant woman, Wong Fei Fei (Mandy Wong 黃智雯), is eating hot pot in a hospital room seemed to bring a real-life situation from last year onscreen. A Hong Kong mother had complained about a mainland mother for eating hot pot in a hospital room, and interestingly, the exact same thing happens in the drama. In the scene, Fei Fei exclaims, “All you Hong Kong people know are to file complaints. Not showing understanding at all.” This starts a heated argument and Fei Fei’s husband later retorts, “You Hong Kong people are of such low quality!”
Mainland netizens were deeply offended in how they were being portrayed in the drama, and stated that Friendly Fire seemed to be anti-mainland China They condemned the producer and scriptwriter and heavily demanded TVB for an apology to be made.
Producer Responds to Controversy
In a telephone interview, producer Man Wai Hung stated that the script was not aimed at shaming the Chief Executive. It only wanted to emphasize the saying of how emperors who violate the law receive the same punishment as commoners. Regarding how the drama may be prohibited to broadcast in mainland, Man Wai Hung said, “Even if that happens, I will not be disappointed. I am from a Hong Kong broadcasting company, and I want more freedom in my creativity.”
Source: ihktv.com
This article is written by Shirley for JayneStars.com.
At the end of the day hongers are bitter that “rude & ill mannered big greens” actually have more money than they do. Hongers are just as bad & just obnoxious. I have friends from HK even they have to admit that hongers are rude & selfish.
TVB – please be more creative and not reuse the scripts. It’s getting old and boring.
Little Fishy- I like that name which is best describe HKers are fishy. They can be embarrassing too, if they live in the USA, they should follow the rule. This is just like people complain about mainlanders but HKers are the same. Tipping is not a bad thing, it just show respect/appreciation. HKers are selfish, and over work people and only do things with benefit. The Filipino maids for example, they allow them because cheap labor.
” HKers are selfish” fault, not every hkers are selfish so either not every mainlanders are. there are always good and bad ppl in any race or country.
HK hospital runs out of space — come one then voice to the government, ask for improvement or disallow them or move to Canada (that’s what they are best at LOL) At least in America, if there were a sick to death person, we would cure them first even if they have no money. Runs our of space — Just selfish/fishy.
yeh right, and why doesnt you mainlanders voice to china government and ask for improvement in mainland hospitals? the repulic china is such rich government.
I’m just saying if you call mainlander low class, rude… Honkies are the same way and can have no manner/respect. They just do anything to make them look good from the outside but the inside they are so fishy and CHEAP. When I talk down to them, they would defend themselves that’s my point.
My sister in law is from HK and she always think HK is high class country. When her dad actually were born in “Toy San” and her dad went to HK at age 4. Like I said alot of people that claim them as HK but alot of you/ancestor started life in China. You are calling yourself low class.
i know right? i have a distant cousin from HK n they think they are from some sort of high class country hahah..please… most HK ppl are from mainland china ok..some HKers really can be so ignorant and conceited.
It’s because HK was colonized by England…
HK is a dirty place in general. Look at all the meat/chicken poison. I see workers at restaurant taking break on the street while smoking and spit. Not just mainlanders. I have a few Asian friends that went to HK just once and they told me not going again because they got sick the whole trip. I even got a two Americans came back and told me China is good, HK is no good.
Ok, you’re definitely telling a fib here ‘cos no-one would ever say that China is better than Hong Kong. They might say they like/dislike both but they would never say China is good, HK no good LOL.
Totally agree with you. HK is def more developed than China. Which is why people from China sneak to HK and try to have their babies in HK. If HK is not better, why would they do that?….
You should really clarify whether it was china tourist places that your friends went to that may be cleaner than the rest of china or literally the non-tourist sites they visited. Because no doubt would they clean up tourist spots nicely. Might i remind you that HK was under British for quite sometime… I don’t think I need to explain the difference between mainland china and England, do I? However, since 1997, HK is jjust different than what it used to be.
Totally agree. unfortunitly it seem like since 1997 growth in hong kong has just stopped. right now its the main cities in china that are growing especially shanghai.
There may be a hidden message there may not but I think Mandy was funny with her accent.
Rather then people/country bashing, this is a hong kong drama made by the hong kong people (maybe through there eye and experience)freedom of speech and all that, why do they need to apologies?
How may people say sterotypical things about other cultures and think you are in the right?
Europe is Europe. HK is too low class to be part of British.
HK is not all that, it’s dirty and horrible. If HK is Japan then that would be a different story. There’s alot of better places out there. HK is nothing. I don’t see the Japanese brag about their countries like HK does.
hahaha i so agree. only conceited HKers think they are all that. i really dont see much of a big diff bet HK or China. not that i am degrading both in any way but HKers in general just like to brag about HK for some damn stupid reason like its all that when in fact its just the same. n as to why China ppl still rush to have babies in HK thats another subject haha..
Exactly, it’s the history don’t hold against the mainlander. Look at all the films they make about China, escape illegally and hide in the construction building, come to HK as killers or to carry drugs, or to work as prostitute, and now give birth in hk. TVB let’s use your head and be more creative. Come up with new story line don’t always copy story line. It’s getting old. Alot of the drama its all reluctant.
Don’t forget — HK belongs to China. China own HK, it’s a whole. Just like being born in New York and being born in LA, it’s still America.
You must have had a very lonely Christmas to go write this essay of yours on a forum. You sound like a banshee wailing on and on about something. While I don’t approve of HK degrading mainlanders, I also do understand their frustrations because truth of the matter is, mainlanders have a long way to go in social manners
Didn’t pregnant HK women also flood into American hospitals several years ago?
HK’ers don’t have such good manners either. They also tend to be loud and rude. Talking smack about mainlanders somehow makes them feel superior.
Dual standards occurs in all societies. Here in California, Mexicans here wants the state ceded back to Mexico. Actually, Mexico belonged to the Mayan Indians who are the true inhabitants.
Throughout California and the United States, it is all the Democrats and their social programs helping the lazy people and uneducated people (many by choice) while forcing the hard-working single and dual wage earners to toil doubly hard to pay for these programs just to have an “equitable” society. Homeless, druggies, welfare frauds and illegals are on easy street…
WTF, what happen to an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work?
” Look at all the films they make about China, escape illegally and hide in the construction building,
I distinctly remember films where conscienceless and greedy HK bosses callthe police to arrest the illegal immigrant they hired so as to avoid paying them salary. In these stories, the HKers are the one shown in bad light.
” come to HK as killers or to carry drugs, “
HAL showed many HK drug lords.
“or to work as prostitute,”
Ghetto Justice shows HK prostitutes.
“and now give birth in hk. “
This really do happen.
I am appalled after looking at the comments. I always tend to forget there are extremists in this world, if not we would have a peaceful world long ago.
I believe what the producers are doing is telling the stories for viewers to see. I don’t know them personally so I don’t know if they have ulterior motives but what they are showing in the drama are facts. Things that happened right now and have been happening or happened long ago. Please note they did not make up the stories just to make mainlanders look bad.
The steamboat/hotpot thing is real news. I can’t help thinking yeah mainlanders are capable of doing that even though I have not witnessed one.
Mainlanders going to Hk to give birth is a fact. I went there many many yrs ago and have already heard of this frm the cabbie who fetched us around. It’s a fact and an issue just like how every country has their own social problems internally.
Eating kua ci (seeds) in the bus is real too although not all mainlanders do that. Hell, Malaysians do that too. But seriously, mainlanders do it a lot and spit a lot too. It’s their way of life.
Nobody says Hongkie are not rude and only mainlanders are. Well, at least in the drama u see HK acting classy n mainlanders obnoxious. See? The producers highlighted the ugly sides of both.
So what’s with the fighting of who is rudest of all?LOL
Oh yeah, I wish to add French and British are even worse frm my personal experiences. Oops just a personal opinion. I don’t wish to start another round of Europe vs. Asia on who is the rudest ppl on the whole wide world
too bad the hongers do not see themselves as being rude, fishy and etc….
actually they are just as bad.
After seeing azndoraemon post a 10 page diatribe as to why HK is horrible and China is great, I’m thoroughly convinced he is just another mainland Chinese ultra-nationalist hating other races while feeling like they are owed something.
Lol in the end we are all Chinese.. Why cant we just get along… 🙁
i know, esp when ppl always trying to clarify how Taiwanese is Taiwanese, HK is HK and China is China…WTH, at the end of the day, are we NOT all Chinese? hahha…
Wow a ghetto justice replay right here, interesting though!
Y’all gotta remember China is about 65% rural or uneducated n I suppose etiquette starts at home n missionaries r much needed to preach on cleaniness of d soul n righteousness but as China is a developing country, it will take time for them to understand higher social manners, but y condemned n d need for an apology from TVB anyway. Experiences do exists n of coz “the truth is out there”!
Wow. Mainlanders bashing, as if HK is perfect utopia. Look, there are nice people and there are bad people, same as polite people and rude people. Just because you met 1 queue cutter, not all mainlanders are queue cutters. I have been to a few places in China, and maybe I am lucky because yes there are annoying traders and even more annoying beggars that spoiled my mood, but I have met mostly educated, well mannered and friendly mainlanders, as much as I have met rude, unfriendly HK-ers. In fact I changed my mind about mainlanders after experiencing their culture so to speak. I am not impressed with their toilets, they spit, yes but even I almost did because their air is so polluted that it is a necessity but I don’t see anyone spitting in Shanghai. It is about location, it is about the air, it is about the people. I had a terrible time with taxi drivers in Xian but apart from that, I see them as no more ruder than people anywhere else, say Singapore. Just because people don’t smile at you and say Good Morning doesn’t mean they are rude. I never had anyone shoving me or queue cutting me, in fact one asked politely if he may do so.
Anyway this series is portraying stereotypes which I am ok with it. Because it is the truth. I am more concerned at how unconvincing Mandy’s caricature portrayal of mainlanders than I am with what is depicted. But what I read in here is to me a bit shocking but then you have had your experiences.
Stereotype all you want in a TV series, but don’t make a blanket final sweeping judgment before you see more, or know more.
If some of the scenes are representative of what happens in real life then, the complaints warrant nothing.
If it’s a falsification, then I would understand why they would be complaining.
Another “Saving face” moment…
-cheers-
On another note, does anyone know what that Korean song that is always played in the background called?
Not sure, but the song is Japanese.
Ditto three
geez, people are taking these so seriously. Dramas and Movies are just for enjoyable. Don’t be so offended T,T.
are mainlanders really that bad????? come on be honest.
One word: D R A M A. This is a drama. Sometimes viewers really need to take things easy and just chill man..
Well, even if the producers are trying to show how mainlanders are bad, the only problem I have is how they general everybody. I think hong kongers have this mentality that they are better than other chinese people. Mandy’s character is “supposedly” from Guangzhou but her accent is of a mando accent, so that is really biased. Since, guangzhou people speak cantonese….
I don’t think demanding an apology is appropriate here. TVB should be able to produce anything they want, however distasteful.
Mainlanders should look into boycotting HK series and demanding governmental restriction on HK actors/actresses coming north to work. That would a more effective and appropriate retaliation.
love the drama.
I’ve just watch Mandy Wong’s part. I don’t find it offensive. She’s just want character and her character is not all bad. She has a conscience. Secondly, that HK pregnant lady that reprimanded Mandy was not shown in a very good light either. It is interesting to note that the most sensible lady is the 3rd pregnant lady who asked them to stop arguing and she was speaking mandarin and I assume is a Mainlander. So, not all Mainlanders are shown in a negative light.
This series just highlight issues in the currently consciousnesses of HK people. They also made fun of the car shaking news and the power of youtube and picture/video editing culture.