Stan Lai's Interview with OSF
"The story of Secret Love is not a particular story that I know but it is like a lot of stories that I know from my father’s generation. Families and lovers that are separated in 1949 don’t get to see each other for the rest of their lives; or until 1986 when people started saying, “What the hell, you are not letting me go back? The two countries aren’t talking and what the hell, I am going to go back myself.” There are people getting old and they want to go home; it is like Rip Van Winkle—they haven’t been home in almost forty years. There is no communication. This is something very difficult for an Ashland audience to understand. It is a bigger than the Berlin Wall thing. You couldn’t call and a letter would never be delivered. You just don’t know what happened to your family or loved ones. In 1988, people could officially start traveling from China to Taiwan; Taiwan lifted martial law, which meant there was no longer a hostile relationship. To this day, I can leave my home at seven in the morning and be in Shanghai talking to actors at ten. It has been a long journey but we are here now."