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With his new film rejected by official censors, the award-winning film-maker says he is being punished for his outspoken views
In Hong Kong, where dissent is now characterised by silence, few dare openly criticise the government or the Chinese Communist party (CCP) that controls it. Film-maker Kiwi Chow is one of the few.
“The Chinese Communist party’s practice is to try and destroy history and truth,” the 46-year-old director says from his home in the region. “It’s ridiculous that I can still live in Hong Kong without being in jail.”
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© Photograph: Billy H.C. Kwok/The Guardian
© Photograph: Billy H.C. Kwok/The Guardian
© Photograph: Billy H.C. Kwok/The Guardian
Rural depopulation compounding challenges of climate emergency and changing technologies in drawing young people to sector
The huge concrete vats that have held countless litres of verdejo white wine in the 90 years since the Cuatro Rayas cooperative winery was founded are dwarfed by the stainless steels tanks that sit opposite and serve as reminders that, even in an enterprise as ancient as winemaking, times change.
Outside, a chilly but welcome rain falls on the surrounding vines, autumn-brown after another furnace-hot summer in the northern Spanish province of Valladolid. But changing technologies and the vagaries of the climate emergency are not the only challenges facing Spain’s €22.4bn (£20bn) wine industry.
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© Photograph: Denis Doyle/The Guardian
© Photograph: Denis Doyle/The Guardian
© Photograph: Denis Doyle/The Guardian
Israel’s PM travels to Mar-a-Lago as US administration reported to be running out of patience over Gaza ceasefire
Benjamin Netanyahu is to meet Donald Trump at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday evening amid growing fears Israel could launch new offensives against regional enemies, potentially plunging the Middle East further into instability.
The Israeli prime minister left Israel on Sunday on his fifth visit to see Trump in the US this year.
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© Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP
© Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP
© Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP
I love many shows on the streaming channels, but the BBC is our storyteller. It defines a nation and its culture – and we must defend it
Tony Hall was director general of the BBC between April 2013 and August 2020
Don’t let President Trump cloud the real debate about the BBC. Of course, his demand for damages of no less than $5bn has dominated our thinking about the corporation over the past few weeks, as has its cause. But let’s get this into perspective. This was a serious own goal and journalists make mistakes. Salvation in this case would have been a line of script between the clips, or once a mistake had been discovered, a very speedy public acknowledgment. Now, though, the BBC is right not to yield on this. It has apologised. And, unlike other broadcasters and institutions in the United States, it doesn’t need the president’s support. This is a chance to demonstrate the BBC’s independence. Fight on.
But we must not let this cloud the debate here about the sort of BBC we all want and need, and I hope that is what dominates our conversation in the coming crucial year. The government’s green paper, published in December, starts off with a reminder of what, despite all its travails, the BBC delivers for the country. “It’s not just a broadcaster,” says the introduction, “it’s also a national institution … if it did not already exist, we would have to invent it.” The secretary of state, Lisa Nandy, is even more forthright: “I believe the BBC, alongside the NHS, is one of the two most important institutions in our country. While one is fundamental to the health of our people, the other is fundamental to the health of our democracy.” Seeing the BBC not just as a media organisation, but as a cultural organisation helping to define who we are is crucial to next year’s debate about what we want the BBC to be. It should be seen as part of our social infrastructure.
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© Photograph: PjrNews/Alamy
© Photograph: PjrNews/Alamy
© Photograph: PjrNews/Alamy
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