Taiwan Reunification Film Sparks Rare Backlash in China

A Chinese historical epic calling for Taiwan’s reunification with the mainland has become the center of a surprising controversy, drawing fierce criticism from online nationalists despite having the backing of the Communist Party’s propaganda apparatus. The film, “The Belief” (also known as “Battle of Penghu”), has also failed to secure a public screening license, leaving its release in limbo.

The Film and Its Official Support

Directed by Zheng Baorui and starring Chinese heartthrob Jackson Yee as Admiral Shi Lang, “The Belief” dramatizes the 1683 Battle of Penghu, in which Emperor Kangxi of the Qing dynasty ordered a naval assault that defeated the Kingdom of Tungning—a Han Chinese-ruled state in Taiwan loyal to the fallen Ming dynasty. The battle ultimately brought Taiwan under Qing rule for the first time.

Promotional materials left no ambiguity about the film’s political message. Posters featured the slogan “The reunification of Taiwan is unstoppable,” while the trailer’s narration declared, “Lead the fleet, take Penghu, and capture Taiwan.” According to the South China Morning Post, co-producers of the film include the propaganda department of Fujian’s provincial committee of the Communist Party.

An Unexpected Backlash

Despite this official backing, the film has faced a surprising backlash from the very nationalist voices the Party often seeks to cultivate. Critics on Chinese social media have taken issue with the film’s portrayal of a Manchu-led Qing army attacking a Han Chinese regime. For a growing number of Han Chinese nationalists, the Qing dynasty—founded by the Manchu ethnic minority—does not represent “their” history.

As The Diplomat noted in a May analysis, “a patriotic film backfired because a growing number of Han Chinese don’t see the Manchu-origin Qing dynasty as a part of their history.” Some critics have argued the film would have been better framed as a story about Koxinga, the Ming loyalist who expelled the Dutch from Taiwan in 1662.

Cancellation and Uncertain Future

The controversy has been compounded by uncertainty over the film’s release. Scheduled to premiere on July 25—the anniversary of the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War, after which Taiwan was ceded to Japan—the film never secured a public screening license, known colloquially as the “dragon seal.” Ticket pre-sales remained unavailable on Chinese booking platforms.

Domino Theory reported that China’s National Film Administration has no record of “The Belief” holding a screening license. While the production company Jiangsu Xinghao said it had not received a notice of cancellation, the film’s Weibo page has not been updated in over a month. Even state media outlet CCTV had previously promoted the film, highlighting the conflicting signals from Chinese authorities.

Divergent Nationalisms

The episode exposes a critical fracture within Chinese nationalism. On one side is the state-sponsored, multi-ethnic “Chinese nation” narrative that embraces all dynasties, including the Manchu Qing, as part of a unified historical heritage. On the other is a rising Han-centric nationalism that rejects non-Han rule as illegitimate.

Liu Hsing-jen, an associate professor at Chinese Culture University’s Institute for National Development and Cross-Strait Studies in Taiwan, pointed out that the film’s trailer depicts cross-strait relations as a life-or-death struggle, which may contradict Beijing’s current strategy combining peaceful reunification with grey zone pressure. If authorities ultimately block the release, Liu argued, it suggests they are “putting politics ahead of art and history.”

Broader Implications

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council dismissed the film as “purely CCP propaganda and cognitive warfare,” adding that Taiwanese society views such efforts with little reaction. The film’s troubles demonstrate the complex dynamics of Chinese cultural censorship: even a project explicitly aligned with the Party’s core policy on Taiwan can be derailed by sensitivities around historical representation.

The controversy also raises questions about the limits of official propaganda in China’s cultural sphere. With a reported budget of approximately 500 million yuan (US$70 million), “The Belief” was expected to be a major summer box office draw. Its uncertain fate suggests that Beijing’s efforts to control cultural narratives may sometimes collide with the very nationalist sentiments the Party has helped cultivate.

What to Watch For

Whether “The Belief” will eventually receive a screening license remains an open question. The episode serves as a revealing case study of the tensions within Chinese nationalism and the challenges the CCP faces in managing a coherent propaganda narrative across historical, cultural, and political dimensions. For observers of cross-strait relations, the film’s fate will be a telling indicator of how Beijing navigates these competing pressures.