The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus called on the government yesterday to demand a formal apology from Beijing after a Chinese delegation stopped Taiwanese celebrities from attending the opening of the Tokyo International Film Festival. The caucus said Taipei should freeze cross-strait dialogue.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) needed to personally make “Taiwan’s position very clear” on the issue, DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said.
“Without an apology, all exchanges and negotiations [with China] should be immediately halted,” Chen said.
DPP lawmakers were infuriated by reports that the Taiwanese delegation was to attend the opening of the 23rd Tokyo International Film Festival on Saturday, but were prevented from doing so by the head of the Chinese delegation, Jiang Ping (江平).
Just hours before the event, Jiang questioned the Taiwanese celebrities on their nationality and told them they had to add the word “China” to their delegation name.
His demand was immediately rejected by Chen Chih-kuan (陳志寬), the Government Information Office (GIO) official who headed the Taiwanese delegation.
The act showed that Chinese pressure on Taiwan’s sovereignty has “never let up” despite warming economic ties under the current administration, DPP Legislator Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) said.
“China has been using all sorts of intermediaries — from private companies, non-profit organizations and government agencies — to limit Taiwan’s international living space,” he said. “The Taiwanese clearly understand this.”
The incident in Tokyo came just one day after Taiwan Affairs Office Director Wang Yi (王毅) told a conference in the US that Taiwan’s participation in international organizations would have to first be approved by Beijing.
Any attempts by Taiwan to secure international recognition, Wang said, would have to abide by the “one China” principle, the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported.
China’s growing assertiveness on the international stage is likely spurred by the Ma administration’s “flexible diplomacy” approach to cross-strait relations, stressing compromise over confrontation, the DPP lawmakers said. Growing cross-strait exchanges, they said, did not necessarily mean a reduction in cross-strait tensions.
“What have Ma’s policies over the past two years accomplished? There are now more Chinese missiles pointed at Taiwan and the country is being … subject to ever greater suppression internationally,” Pan said.
The remarks by the DPP caucus are likely to pile pressure on Ma to comment on the latest and most high-profile example of problems that Taiwanese delegations and groups routinely face at international events.
Ma has not commented on the issue so far when asked by reporters, but in a statement on Sunday night the Presidential Office said the Tokyo incident “severely hurt the feelings of the Taiwanese public.”
The Chinese demands would not aid the development of cross-strait relations, the statement said.
DPP lawmakers said the statement fell far short of clarifying Taiwan’s position in relation to China.
“Ma needs to immediately hold an international press conference explaining very clearly Taiwan’s stance, Taiwan’s sovereignty and Taiwan’s position,” Chen said. “Otherwise, we fear that Taiwan’s ability to participate in international events will disappear completely.”
Saturday’s incident was the first time Taiwanese celebrities have had problems with the name of their delegation at the annual festival.
Chen, director of the GIO’s Department of Motion Pictures Affairs, said the delegation had applied to attend the event under the name “Taiwan” as it has done in the past.
In a press conference held following the episode, the Chinese delegation said the request for a name change was made to the Taiwanese delegation after festival organizers refused to change their title to either “China Taiwan” or “Chinese Taipei.”
Jiang said the protest was launched as soon as they heard that the festival would be announcing the two delegations separately, Hong Kong-based China Review News reported.
“Their decision not to put the word China in front of Taiwan showed that on this issue, they were unclear and imprecise,” Jiang was quoted as saying.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers told a separate press conference that Jiang’s comments had violated an unspoken cross-strait understanding and said Beijing needed to make clear whether his remarks represented the views of the Chinese government.
KMT Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said Jiang, a mid-level official at China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, might no longer be welcome in Taiwan. The KMT caucus was studying making such a proposal, Hsieh said.
Meanwhile, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said the administration would not lodge an official protest to China over the incident because such a move was unnecessary how the Presidential Office, Executive Yuan and GIO had already issued “the strongest statements ever.”
Asked whether China had explained the matter through exchange channels, Wu said he had not heard of any official response from Beijing. However, he said he saw in the newspapers that the Taiwan Affairs Office was to respond to the matter during its regular press conference tomorrow.
“I hope mainland China will extend its goodwill gesture and refrain from letting such rude words and behavior affect the peaceful, stable and prosperous development across the Taiwan Strait and sabotage the mutually beneficial win-win scenario,” Wu said.
The premier also said it wasn’t necessary for the government to hold an international press conference to express its position.
“It is clear that Taiwan was invited to attend the event and our films bear the name of Taiwan,” he said. “The Republic of China [ROC] government has strongly and firmly expressed our position and we will not be swayed by any uncivilized words and behaviors.”
Describing Jiang as “rude” and his actions as “improper,” Wu said Beijing had apparently taken notice of the incident since Jiang later withdrew from the festival.
Wu said both the KMT and opposition parties should put aside their differences and jointly safeguard the sovereignty and honor of the ROC and prevent the country’s delegations from being humiliated.
KMT spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) called on the DPP not to exploit the matter to score political points.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chao Chien-min (趙建民) said the Chinese delegation was “unfriendly” and “unwise” and that Beijing’s suppression of Taiwanese hurt the feelings of the Taiwanese.
He urged China to cherish the development across the Strait, saying the joint efforts of both sides have produced positive results.
Taiwan’s delegation has said it would go ahead with plans to hold the special Taiwan section as part of the film festival. Six local box-office hits, including Monga, Juliets, Fourth Painting, Let the Wind Carry Me, Zoom Hunting and Taipei Exchanges, will be screened as part of the event.
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