Chinese Film Fans Anti-American Sentiment During Lunar New Year Holiday

During the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, Chinese audiences flocked to movie theaters to watch a film about the Chinese People's Volunteer Army defeating U.S. forces in the Korean War. Titled "The Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge," the popular new film is the sequel to "The Battle at Lake Changjin," which was China's highest grossing film of all time. Both films depict one critical battle, the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, during the Korean War. U.S. forces were surrounded and outnumbered by Chinese forces in that battle, and had to fight their way out of a trap the Chinese had set for them.

Three trailers for the movie were posted on the AsianFilmsFan YouTube channel. Two of the trailers depicted scenes from the battle and were posted on January 17 and 14, 2022 and another trailer that was posted on February 6, 2022 featured a Chinese veteran of the battle who shared his experiences from the war. He said: "Our military is now getting stronger and stronger. Long live the Chinese People's Liberation Army!" The Chinese government routinely uses films to fan xenophobic sentiment, and the long-standing American support for Taiwan has made the U.S. a repeated target of such films in recent years.

U.S. soldier 1: ".30 cal heavy machine gun! 105 HP! 60 mm mortar!"

U.S. soldier 2: "Keep the rest on full alert, wait to spring the trap."

Narrator: "They will call for reinforcements for sure. The fight will get tougher later on. All battles are tough, and the tougher it gets, the more we should fight. The 7th Company and the 9th Company work together."

Chinese soldier: "Advance! Split into four operations groups and blow up the bridge. Get down! Fire! Come on!"

Narrator: "That's our border, the direction of the motherland. Long live new China!"

Chinese Soldiers: "Long live new China!"

Narrator: "I didn't let you run around before, because I was afraid you'd get into trouble. Today, you decide how you want to run around."

Guo Rongxi: "My name is Guo Rongxi, I blew up this bridge. After arriving in Korea, I took part in a letter delivery mission from the headquarters. Another mission was to blow up the bridge. This is to prevent the enemy from escaping. We blew up that bridge three times total. The first time I took a platoon and went down there, it was under -40 degrees Celsius. The troops shivered with cold.

"When I was a child, the teacher said people would freeze to death if their eyes were closed when frozen. So I marked time with my feet for hours. My hands were frozen black. The troops suffered great losses because we didn't have enough to eat and wear.

"During our mission to blow up the bridge, we moved to the middle section and I felt that was a good spot. If this spot was blown up, the whole bridge would collapse. When we tried to blow up the bridge the second and third time, one platoon in the 180th Regiment all died. Because they were frozen, they remained in their shooting postures when they died. Even the Americans were saying our troops were great."

U.S. soldier: "Let's go home men. Let's go."

Guo Rongxi: "Blowing up the bridge put a lot of pressure on the Americans. It delayed their escape plan. It was up to our division to wipe out the [U.S.] 1st Marine Division. It was necessary to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea. It was very glorious to protect our homes and defend our country. We all stepped up to the plate and were not afraid of any sacrifice. The Americans were mechanized troops. We were equipped with antiquated weapons. But when there was a mission, we did not hesitate, not a bit, not afraid of any sacrifice."

Chinese soldier: "As long as the bridge remains, our mission remains."

Chinese soldiers: "Advance!"

Guo Rongxi: "Our military is now getting stronger and stronger. Long live the Chinese People's Liberation Army!"