TAIWANESE scriptwriter Chiung Yao accused mainland scriptwriter and director Yu Zheng of plagiarism in an open letter to the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television on Tuesday. The letter was posted on the official Sina Weibo account for TV drama “Flowers in Fog.”

    In the letter, Chiung claims that Yu, scriptwriter and director of TV drama “The Palace: the Lost Daughter,” has copied the leading characters and main story line from Chiung’s 1993 book and TV series “Plum Blossom Scar.”

    Chiung lists the similarities between “The Palace” and “Plum Blossom Scar” as evidence, adding that she became very heart-broken and even sick when she found her hard work had been plagiarized.

    She mentions that she had recently added new material to the original script of the “Plum Blossom Scar” TV show with plans to create a new show, but these plans were soon brought to a halt due to the similarities between “The Palace” and “Plum Blossom Scar.”

    “I ask all my friends in the media to understand that I am now mentally and physically exhausted and wish for them to not interview me. I hope people with a sense of justice will refuse to watch Yu Zheng’s TV drama,” Chiung wrote.

    Just last week, Yu had gotten into an online argument with actress Dai Jiaoqian because the latter had said in an interview that the story of “The Palace” had been inspired by “Plum Blossom Scar.” Yu criticized Dai for speaking “nonsense,” and later publicly expressed that “only an ignorant person would say that I had committed plagiary.”

    From Taiwan, the 76-year-old Chiung began her writing career back in the early 1960s. Famous for her romantic love stories, she has influenced many other writers of modern Chinese literature. Almost all her books have been adapted into TV series or films.

    (SD-Agencies)