A film in celebration of today’s 90th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had its local premiere yesterday. “The Foundation of an Army” will have its theatrical release in Hong Kong and Macau on Thursday.
A ceremony marking the local premiere was held at Macau Tower. Senior local officials and top central government officials posted to Macau attended the ceremony, including Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On and Legislative Assembly (AL) President Ho Iat Seng as well as Central People’s Government Liaison Office Director Wang Zhimin, Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Commissioner Ye Dabo and representatives of the PLA Macau Garrison. Chui’s predecessor Edmund Ho Hau Wah, now a vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), also attended the premiere.
“The Founding of an Army”, which was released in the mainland last week, is the third instalment of a trilogy called “Founding of New China”, after “The Founding of a Republic” and “The Founding of a Party”.
“The Founding of a Republic” was released in September 2009 to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949, while “The Founding of a Party” was released in June 2011 to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1, 1921.Yesterday’s premiere was jointly organised by the public Macau Foundation (FM) and Media Asia Film – a Hong Kong film production company. The film’s Hong Kong premiere was held on Sunday.
The film’s story starts at the beginning of the Nanchang uprising – the first major Kuomintang-Communist engagement – which began on August 1, 1927. August 1 was later set as the anniversary of the founding of the PLA.
The historical period drama, directed by Hong Kong filmmakerAndrew Lau Wai-keung, was jointly produced by China Film Company Limited (a subsidiary of state-owned China Film Group Corporation), August First Film Studio (a staterun
film studio) and a number of mainland private film production and distributor companies, as well as Media Asia Film and Emperor
Motion Pictures in Hong Kong.
Delivering a speech during yesterday’s ceremony, FM President Wu Zhiliang said that most of the people who took part in the
founding of the PLA 90 years ago were “hot-blooded” young people in their twenties and thirties.
These included university students, children of wealthy families, as well as senior officers of the Kuomintang (KMT) army, Wu said, adding that they gave up their comfortable lives and joined the mission to save the country by joining the fledgling PLA. Wu said
that those who founded the army were committed to the nation and its people, adding that it’s worth about young people nowadays to
learn such a noble spirit.
Also delivering a speech, Peter Lam Kin-ngok, the chairman of Media Asia Group, said he was sure that the film will be popular
among local residents. Lam, a Hong Kong businessman and son of late industrialist tycoon Lim Por-yen, chairs the Hong Kong
Tourism Board.
Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On (centre) and his predecessor Edmund Ho Hau Wah (fifth from left), Central People’s Government Liaison Office Director Wang Zhimin (fifth from right), Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Commissioner Ye Dabo (fourth from left), Legislative Assembly (AL) President Ho Iat Seng (third from left), Macau Foundation (FM) President Wu Zhiliang (third from right), and Media Asia Group Chairman Peter Lam Kin-ngok (second from left), among other representatives, preside over yesterday’s local premiere of “The Foundation of an Army” at Macau Tower. Photo: GCS
The historical period drama, directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Andrew Lau Wai-keung, was jointly produced by China Film Company Limited (a subsidiary of state-owned China Film Group Corporation), August First Film Studio (a state-run film studio) and a number of mainland private film production and distributor companies, as well as Media Asia Film and Emperor Motion Pictures in Hong Kong.
Delivering a speech during yesterday’s ceremony, FM President Wu Zhiliang said that most of the people who took part in the founding of the PLA 90 years ago were “hot-blooded” young people in their twenties and thirties.
These included university students, children of wealthy families, as well as senior officers of the Kuomintang (KMT) army, Wu said, adding that they gave up their comfortable lives and joined the mission to save the country by joining the fledgling PLA. Wu said that those who founded the army were committed to the nation and its people, adding that it’s worth about young people nowadays to learn such a noble spirit.
Also delivering a speech, Peter Lam Kin-ngok, the chairman of Media Asia Group, said he was sure that the film will be popular among local residents. Lam, a Hong Kong businessman and son of late industrialist tycoon Lim Por-yen, chairs the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
