Taiwanese singer and actress Rainie Yang stars in "The Tag Along 2," a sequel to the 2015 hit that's loosely based on a ghostly urban legend in Taiwan about a little girl who appears in the footage of a family's hiking trip.
The only problem was, she wasn't part of the family and no one seemed to recall seeing a young girl on the mountain that day.
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Taiwanese singer and actress Rainie Yang stars in "The Tag Along 2," a sequel to the 2015 hit that's loosely based on a ghostly urban legend in Taiwan about a little girl who appears in the footage of a family's hiking trip.
The actual footage of the mysterious "little girl in red" was broadcast on Taiwanese television in the 1990s. Some believed that she was roaming the mountains looking for her next victim.
In the sequel, Yang plays a social worker whose daughter goes missing in the mountains. She joins the search and rescue team and while looking for her lost daughter gets haunted by the little girl in red.
It is customary in Asia to hold a blessing ceremony before filming commences for horror movies to keep the cast and crew from harm's way. Yang said that the sequel included a blessing ceremony before shooting every scene.
"When they were shooting the first film, a lot of the men (crew members) will relieve themselves wherever it's convenient. Sometimes they're not being thoughtful about it, and no joke, the next day, they will get a fever. They will get sick the next day."
In this photo taken on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017, Taiwanese actress Rainie Yang smiles during an interview with The Associated Press in Taipei, Taiwan. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
The actual footage of the mysterious "little girl in red" was broadcast on Taiwanese television in the 1990s. Some believed that she was roaming the mountains looking for her next victim.
"The little girl in red was photographed really clearly," Yang said in an interview with The Associated Press. "People have been talking about it for the last 20 years. It happened when I was very little but I still remember it well. So it definitely had a far reach."
(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
In the sequel, Yang plays a social worker whose daughter goes missing in the mountains. She joins the search and rescue team and while looking for her lost daughter gets haunted by the little girl in red.
"From there she discovered the obsession of the little girl in red," Yang said. "Everyone has their obsession, whether you're human or a ghost and when you have an obsession, you can't let it go. That's why you keep hanging around, and can't get over it. So because she stumbled across all this, the story began."
(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
It is customary in Asia to hold a blessing ceremony before filming commences for horror movies to keep the cast and crew from harm's way. Yang said that the sequel included a blessing ceremony before shooting every scene.
She found out later that quite a few "coincidences" happened while filming the first movie — which prompted director Cheng Wei-hao to take extra precautions while making the second.
(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
"When they were shooting the first film, a lot of the men (crew members) will relieve themselves wherever it's convenient. Sometimes they're not being thoughtful about it, and no joke, the next day, they will get a fever. They will get sick the next day."
"So they feel like they had to believe ... You can't go to toilet wherever you want. They realized that they needed to pay attention to that. So, to avoid people getting sick during the filming of the sequel, and because it's very inconvenient to find a toilet (in wilderness), and also they didn't want the crew to get sick to delay filming, that's why at every set, there is a toilet just for our cast and crew," Yang said.
(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
The star of the first movie, Tiffany Hsu, returns in the sequel. This time, Hsu's character takes a darker turn and is on the brink of a breakdown. Yang, who is friends with Hsu in real life, said that the challenges for both of them were to put aside their friendship and act like complete strangers when the cameras were rolling.
"We've known each other for about 18 years," Yang said. "We have such great chemistry but there was no use for it in this movie, because her character lives in her world, and I'm focused on mine, so they didn't have much interaction. For us, our challenges lie in pretending we're strangers," Yang said.
"The Tag-Along 2" hits theaters in Taiwan on Aug. 25.
SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised what the U.S. describes as unfair Chinese trade practices during his first full day of meetings in China on Thursday with local government officials in the financial hub of Shanghai.
Blinken met with the city's top official, Communist Party Secretary Chen Jining, and “raised concerns about (Chinese) trade policies and non-market economic practices," the State Department said in a statement.
It said he stressed that the United States seeks healthy economic competition with China and "a level playing field for U.S. workers and firms operating in China.”
“The two sides reaffirmed the importance of ties between the people of the United States and (China), including the expansion of exchanges between students, scholars, and business,” it said.
China's multibillion-dollar trade surplus with the U.S. along with accusations of intellectual property theft and other practices seen as discriminating against U.S. businesses in China have long been a source of friction in relations.
China, for its part, has objected strongly to U.S. accusations of human rights abuses and Washington's support for Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing considers its own territory and warns could be annexed by force.
Asked about Blinken's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said China has “always conducted economic and trade cooperation in accordance with market principles, firmly supported the multilateral trading system, and fully complied with the rules of the World Trade Organization.”
“We hope the U.S. will also earnestly respect the principle of fair competition, abide by the WTO rules, and work with China to create favorable conditions for the sound and stable development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing.
Blinken also spoke with students and business leaders before flying to Beijing for what are expected to be contentious talks with national officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi and possibly President Xi Jinping.
Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday shortly before U.S. President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that has several elements likely to anger Beijing, including $8 billion to counter China’s growing aggressiveness toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. It also seeks to force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform.
China has railed against U.S. assistance to Taiwan and immediately condemned the aid as a dangerous provocation. It also strongly opposes efforts to force TikTok’s sale.
Still, the fact that Blinken made the trip — shortly after a conversation between Biden and Xi, a visit to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and a call between the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs — is a sign the two sides are at least willing to discuss their differences.
“I think it’s important to underscore the value — in fact, the necessity — of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences, which are real, seeking to work through them,” Blinken told Chen, according to the State Department statement.
“We have an obligation for our people, indeed an obligation to the world, to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly,” he said. “That is the obligation we have, and one that we take very seriously.”
Chen agreed with that sentiment and said the recent Biden-Xi call had helped the “stable and healthy development of our two countries’ relationship.”
“Whether we choose cooperation or confrontation affects the well-being of both peoples, both countries, and the future of humanity,” he said.
Chen added that he hoped Blinken was able to get a “deep impression and understanding” of Shanghai, a city of skyscrapers, ports and more than 25 million people that is a magnet for commercially ambitious young people from China and abroad.
Most recently, the U.S. has raised concerns that potential overcapacity in Chinese industries — such as electric vehicles, steel and solar panels — might crowd out U.S. and other foreign manufacturers.
Shortly after arriving, Blinken attended a Chinese basketball playoff game between the local Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, with the home team losing in the last seconds in a 121-120 nailbiter.
With the U.S. presidential race heating up, it’s unclear what ramifications a victory for either Biden or former President Donald Trump might have for relations. But Trump could deepen a trade war he started during his first term. His tough rhetoric on China and isolationist approach to foreign policy could ramp up uncertainties.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, with NYU Shanghai Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman, back right, talks to students at NYU Shanghai, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks to students at NYU Shanghai, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second left, U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, third left, and Scott Walker, left, Consul General at the U.S Consulate General in Shanghai, visit a waterfront area called The Bund, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, talks with U.S. tourists as he walks in a waterfront area called The Bund, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, center, with U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai Scott Walker, left, while attending a basketball game between the Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, center, with U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai Scott Walker, right, while attending a basketball game between the Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second left, and U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, far right, arrive at the Grand Halls to meet with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, shakes hans with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining as they meet at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, talks with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, watches U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, left, shake hands with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
