HK films no longer dubbed for mainland
Global Times | 2013-8-31 0:48:01
By Chen Yang
Movie fans on the Chinese mainland will be able to watch Hong Kong-produced Cantonese language movies without Putonghua dubbing starting from next year, read a new supplement to a trade pact published Friday.
Hong Kong-made or co-produced Cantonese language movies are allowed to be shown on the mainland without dubbing as long as standard Chinese subtitles are provided on screen, said the 10th supplement to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), signed Thursday in Hong Kong.
Putonghua dubbing is a necessity when Hong Kong films are showed on the mainland except in Guangdong Province, where Cantonese is spoken.
"I prefer watching Hong Kong movies with the original Cantonese track, as it allows me to concentrate more on the plot," Hu Xiaojiao, a 30-year-old movie fan in Beijing, told the Global Times Friday. "There is often a delay in bringing Hong Kong movies to the mainland. I hope I can see these movies as early as possible," she said.
The new policy was also welcomed by the Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Association, which said in a statement that "the move will save production costs and time for locally produced movies which aim to be screened on the mainland, and thus increase the output of Hong Kong-made films and boost the local film industry."
Apart from the boost for films, the latest supplement also includes 72 other measures concerning liberalization of services, financial cooperation and easing regulations for investment.
In terms of financial cooperation, the mainland agrees to actively study mutual recognition of fund products between the two regions, and support qualified Hong Kong insurers to take part in the compulsory traffic accident liability insurance business on the mainland.
"Further cooperation in the finance sector is part of the mainland authorities' efforts to promote financial reforms," Li Youhuan, an economist at the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times Friday.
"Through these measures, financial reforms on the mainland will be deepened, while Hong Kong's status as a global financial center will be consolidated," Li said.
"Ensuring the mutual recognition of fund products could simplify approval procedures for Hong Kong-issued fund products and offer them easier access to the mainland market," Ma Jun, chief China economist at Deutsche Bank, told the Global Times Friday.
CEPA, first signed in 2003 to forge closer ties between the mainland and Hong Kong, has continuously seen newly added terms each year.
Xinhua contributed to this story
