The indie film 'Dear You,' shot in the Teochew language from southern China’s Guangdong province, has become an unlikely mass hit, drawing large audiences and earning over 1.6 billion yuan (US$236 million) since its April 30 release, according to chinastrategy.org. The film follows a man uncovering his family’s past by tracing remittance letters sent home from Thailand, and portrays the diaspora as struggling to preserve its heritage. According to global.chinadaily.com.cn, the journey in the film gradually uncovers the hidden story of Xie Nanzhi, a Thai woman of Chaoshan descent who was Zheng's sworn sister and trusted confidante. Xie is depicted as secretly writing letters and sending money in Zheng's name for 18 years after his death, and years later, Xie's adopted son, Xie Zehua, reads those letters aloud to Grandma Ye, the film's revelation is described as uncovering a long-buried story. The film received a rating of 9.0 out of 10 on Douban, the highest among all new releases during the holiday, underscoring its broad audience appeal, according to global.chinadaily.com.cn. In one scene, an elderly schoolmaster is depicted as risking arrest to secretly teach diaspora children their ancestral Chinese tongue, reported by chinastrategy.org. The film has been described as a Chinese migration film that has ignited a propaganda debate in Southeast Asia, with responses varying across the region — from Chinese-majority Singapore to Chinese-minority Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines, where Chinese communities are more integrated into wider society, according to chinastrategy.org.