The writer and producer of "One Child," a new drama that stars "Harry Potter" actress Katie Leung, has revealed that the play could not get filmed in China because of vetting laws.
This was primarily because of the nature of the theme of the drama which features a Chinese miscarriage of justice. Apparently, the producers disclosed that the filming of the play did not take place in the country in which it was set so as to avoid scrutiny from government authorities.
Under the existing Chinese laws, all scripts that get filmed in China must go through a vetting process in advance. With such a storyline, however, executive producer Hilary Salmon told Radio Times that he did not imagine that the scripts would get approved if they took their project there.
According to the publication, Salmon said that the censorship rules do not apply in Hong Kong since it is run by a different administration. This meant that it could stand in the place of the Chinese city of Guangzhou where the drama is set. Therefore, the "One Child "crew eventually decided that it would be a main filming location.
The writer of the play, Guy Hibbert, told the same publication that the story in the drama depicts a clear case of a vivid scenario of police corruption, an issue that the Chinese government is currently fighting and so there would be "nothing to fear" from the "One Child" drama.
According to him, since the story touches on the problem of institutional corruption in China, he thinks that the Chinese should embrace the program because it is truthful, well researched and honest.
The three-part play features Mei (Leung), an adopted Chinese woman living in the west. Her birth mother, who is desperately seeking help for her wrongly-accused son, calls her back to Guangzhou to aid in the matter, according to Digital Spy.
The journey in the play explores Mei's inner battle as she struggles to decide how far she will go to help the woman who renounced her and the brother she has never met. "One Child" also features other stars like Andy Cheung and Enoch Frost.
Watch the trailer of "One Child" here:
