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Web-only Exclusives
November 30, 2000

From Our Correspondent: Hirohito and the War
A conversation with biographer Herbert Bix

From Our Correspondent: A Rough Road Ahead
Bad news for the Philippines - and some others

From Our Correspondent: Making Enemies
Indonesia needs friends. So why is it picking fights?

Asiaweek Time Asia Now Asiaweek story

WAITING FOR THE ICE TO MELT

Page 2


BY THE TIME THE PROJECT IS FINISHED - the scheduled completion date is 2001 - the Tomson "town" will be a whole community, with its own hotels, conference halls, ballrooms, shopping mall and an Irish pub. But Pudong has problems. There is already an over-supply of property, and, with the Chinese economy slowing, much of it may stand empty for some time. Is Hsu worried? Apparently not. She says: "Five years ago, many people thought we were crazy. There was nothing here at the time. But we have never had fears about our investment. In Shanghai, you have to have the best. So when people choose, they choose us."

Marketing hype? Maybe, but there seems little doubt that the Tomson project is bucking the Pudong trend. While the number of unoccupied buildings in the area continues to grow, Hsu is finding buyers. Out of a projected total of 800 villas, the first phase of 75 has already been sold. "Foreigners don't buy houses, but the Chinese do," she says. "Slowly, we'll start to rent some of the villas to keep up with the market, because renting in Pudong is very profitable. Some 65 multinationals are based here, so a lot of people need to find accommodation." Tomson (a rough anglicization of Hsu's husband's name) is leasing homes to expatriates from over 30 companies, including General Motors and Siemens. In addition, the golf club has sold 1,500 memberships at $100,000 each. With the Pudong subway due for completion next year, Hsu projects that the club and villas will start making money in 2000.

At one time, Hsu and her husband moved between their various businesses in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taiwan. Last October, they settled in Shanghai, though they still travel extensively and spend only about half their time together. "My husband's family is Shanghainese, and he thinks this city is the best in China," she says. "He says the 21st century will be China's century and Shanghai will be an important international financial center."

For Hsu, part of the fascination is that Shanghai reminds her of Taipei when she was growing up. "I watched Taiwan develop," she says. "Modern Shanghai is very much how things used to be then - the talk and the feel are the same. Here, things move fast and change quickly. As soon as the Chinese have the idea of building something, they do it."

She says Shanghai suits her fine, though she believes things would be easier in Hong Kong or Taipei. "Some people think it's strange - they say I should have a more comfortable life since my husband has such a big business. But after I won the Palme d'Or, I felt like I needed to be in a less comfortable place. When you succeed, you can't be too satisfied or else you won't develop. Living in Shanghai is a little bit difficult, but an artist's career will end quickly if he or she lives too comfortably. You need challenges in order to do artistic things."

Not that the family villa is an artist's cold-water garret. By Chinese standards, it is almost palatial. And Hsu is not short of a yuan or two. She acknowledges: "If you want to make a living making films, you will starve to death. I don't have to make a living through films. I don't have to worry about money. I don't have to worry about time. I just want to make good films."

Things were not always so grand. Hsu's Fujian-born father died when she was six. As the eldest child, she had the job of supporting the family. At the age of 15, in 1967, she answered an "actress wanted" ad that legendary martial arts film director King Hu had placed in a Taipei newspaper. Hsu went on to appear in up to eight movies a year - including A Touch of Zen (1969) and Usurpers of Emperor's Powers (1974) - often playing a Mongolian princess, swordswoman and kung fu heroine up against the Japanese. That all came to an end when she married Tong in 1976 and turned her back on the movies. But it wasn't long before she found she was missing the cinema more than she had expected.

"I was divorced from the film industry for four years after I married," she says. "When I was young, I thought I was acting in films simply to make money and support my family. It was just a job. I realized later that film had entered my blood and become a part of my life. So I asked my husband to allow me to perform again. At that time, the film industry was in a slump, and good parts were scarce. My husband suggested that he give me a sum of money, and I could use it to either buy a house, jewelry or stock or make a film. I decided to make a film."

In 1984, she founded Tomson Films in Taipei. The next year she opened offices in Hong Kong. The company finances all its own movies, spurning co-production offers from the U.S. and France, among other countries. Hsu says joint productions are too messy - and, anyway, she has enough problems with the Chinese censors. So far Tomson has brought out 25 films, earning Hsu a place among nine international producers honored in a special tribute at this year's Cannes Film Festival. She was the only woman and the only Asian.

"I never thought Cannes would give me an achievement award," she says. "The Chinese usually give awards after you die. So I really appreciate being honored while I'm still alive. We - Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou and others - helped Chinese film, but we aren't the main influences. We are a small part of a big machine. If people say that I'm responsible for Chinese film gaining an international reputation, I would say that's too much praise."

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