On 27 November, Yu Dong, Chairman of Bona Film Group, delivered a keynote speech titled “Let Masterpieces of Culture and Art Be the Bridge for People-to-People Bond”.

The full speech is as below.

My topic today is “Let Masterpieces of Culture and Art Be the Bridge for People-to-People Bond”. Culture is the soul of a country and a nation. A thriving culture makes a thriving country and a thriving nation. Looking back at the history of the Chinese civilization over 5,000 years, it's easy to see that a flourishing culture is always a prerequisite for the prosperity of a country. Culture shapes people's mindset. This mindset shapes the times. In the golden age of the Tang Dynasty, there were splendid poems. In the revolutionary age of wars and deaths, there were encouraging romances. To realize the great revival of the Chinese nation, we need both physical and spiritual abundance.

At the fifth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, it was proposed that China become a strong country in culture by 2035. That was the first time that the CPC Central Committee has ever set a clear timetable for achieving that goal. It marks the CPC's further understanding of the importance and rules of cultural progress, as well as setting a clear direction for us to better understand the culture of the new era, strive for new goals, and achieve new glory for Chinese culture.

Ever since the founding of Bona Film in 1999, we’ve always been people-oriented, striving for excellent works, pursuing cultural ideals, and constantly reflecting on ourselves for progress. We’ve been continually expanding to conduct upstream and downstream operations in the film industry. We’ve been consistently innovative in creating films, producing brand new films for our viewers. As China is on a new journey toward a modern socialist country, Bona Film strives to use outstanding cultural works to enlighten people and elevate people's soul. We stick to our strategy of producing the best works, taking the responsibility of our times to nurture positivity in people.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, Bona Film has produced patriotic movies as tributes to the new era, including "The Taking of Tiger Mountain", "Operation Mekong”, “Operation Red Sea", "The Captain", and "The Bravest”, as well as "Chinese Doctors" presented by our Guangdong branch in 2021 and "The Battle at Lake Changjin" on the screen now. All of them are socially and economically successful. Those films are based on classic heroic stories back in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression or true stories happening at home and abroad in contemporary times. They’ve reproduced the backgrounds and environments where those stories took place, as well as the thrilling process of the stories, showing the determination and stance of the Chinese nation to strive for independence and autonomy, maintain peace and justice in the world, and combat crimes.

On the same day 71 years ago, which was 27 November 1950, The Ninth Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) army launched a general offensive at Lake Changjin. With strong determination, they overcame the extremely cold weather and the huge difference between the two armies' armaments and defeated the 1st Marine Division, the most elite military unit of the US army, winning a strategic battle for the overall victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. The CPV soldiers sacrificed their lives for the prosperity and peace of today. As cultural workers today, we’ve produced a masterpiece called "The Battle at Lake Changjin” to pay our sincerest tribute to them. On 25 November, "The Battle at Lake Changjin" became the all-time best-selling movie in China. It made a profit of 5.7 billion yuan because of the 122 million people going to the cinemas and the fact that China's total box office and number of screens rank first in the world. The new record reflects the spirit and strength of Chinese film makers, the power and potential of the Chinese film industry, the amazing development of Chinese films, and the vitality of China's economy and film industry. It has also provided motivation and confidence for the global film industry to completely recover from the pandemic. More importantly, the box office for "The Battle at Lake Changjin" in Guangdong Province accounted for 12.75% of the total, ranking first in the whole country. The film grossed over 10 million Hong Kong dollars in box office in the first week when it was screened in Hong Kong. Many young Hong Kong viewers claimed that it was a most vivid patriotic lecture.

Ever since the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has been the core and thriving area of Cantonese Culture. It boasts abundant cultural legacies, as well as numerous thinkers and cultural icons, including Lin Zexu, a national hero who once wrote, "I shall dedicate myself to the interests of the country irrespective of life and death or weal and woe”, and Liang Qichao, a great thinker and politician who said that whatever difficulties he experienced, he wouldn't lose his passion. Those pioneers' virtues and spirit have inspired later generations to strive for better and made the Greater Bay Area one of the most open and economically thriving areas in China. Accounting for only 0.6% of China's total land area, the Greater Bay Area has contributed 12% of the country's GDP.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Greater Bay Area has embarked on a new journey of overall opening-up. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the area's economy has changed from a fast-growing stage to a stage focused on high-quality development. The development of the Greater Bay Area is strategically important in the overall development of China. It’s a new effort to promote both overall opening-up in the new era and the "one nation, two systems" model. 

Lingnan culture is an important part of the Chinese civilization. It is a fusion of the culture of jiangnan region and the immigrant culture of zhongyuan region, which inherits the essence of zhongyuan culture. Lingnan culture has a long history. It's a perfect combination of classical and modern notions, as well as a result of the cultural exchange between China and the West. Bona Film has always valued our close cooperation with film makers from the Greater Bay Area. Films co-produced by the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong is one of our features and advantages. We've presented "A Simple Life", "The Grandmaster", "Our Time Will Come", "Chasing the Dragon", "Project Gutenberg", and "Ip Man 4: The Finale". These films are all innovations based on classic elements of Cantonese films. With them, we've explored a unique way of transforming and innovating Cantonese films.

Culture is also an important bond and medium between countries in terms of exchange and learning from each other. Film is the art of light and shadow. It boasts a natural advantage of bridging different countries, nations, backgrounds, and languages. We've actively released outstanding films in overseas areas, hoping to help more young viewers in countries and regions of different cultures and backgrounds enjoy excellent Chinese movies, including the amazing stories, special effects, and other artistic elements, while better understanding China and the Chinese people. We hope to achieve cultural exchange and build bridges between different peoples through movies. The relations between different countries lie in the intimacy between their peoples, and such intimacy lies in mutual understanding. Only with mutual understanding can we achieve long-term amity.

Culture is a key channel and way for young people of Asian countries to communicate with each other. We should build bridges between the peoples based on the cultural exchange between young people. As said by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the world's future belongs to the young people. As long as the young people in the world are ambitious and responsible, there'll be hope for humanity and constant strength for promoting the great cause of world peace and development. We hope that young people in all countries will see the world with an attitude of appreciation, learning, and sharing; promote the prosperity and coexistence of different cultures; and actively strive to build a community with a shared future for mankind.