The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it was still unsatisfied after organizers of the 68th Venice International Film Festival changed the designation of the origin of a Taiwanese movie, Seediq Bale (賽德克巴萊), from “China, Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” in line with the Olympic model.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman James Chang (章計平) said the designation change, which came after Taipei protested to the festival’s organizers, was unsatisfactory.
“We are not satisfied with the change and want it [the film] to be labeled under either the official name of the country — ‘Republic of China’ — or ‘Taiwan,’” he said.
Photo: CNA
Chang said the ministry would continue to negotiate the matter with the Italian government and the organizers of the festival, which opens today.
The designation change was made to the online list of the -festival’s feature films at 2am yesterday morning.
However, on the list of countries represented at the festival, the nation is referred to as Taiwan.
Wei Te-sheng (魏德聖), the director of Seediq Bale, left for Italy yesterday to attend the festival.
Seediq Bale has been nominated for the Golden Lion award at the festival.
The movie, shortened to 150 minutes from its original four-plus hours for an international audience, is scheduled to make its world debut at 5pm tomorrow.
Before leaving, Wei addressed the controversy, saying it was better to fight back with action than with words.
“If the main response is simply to protest, then people would have nothing to see,” he said, preferring instead to use his movie to give people an understanding of Taiwan’s history and culture. “The most practical thing to do is to introduce Taiwan to the world. There’s no need to say so much.”
Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s (李安) film Lust, Caution (色戒), which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2007, was identified as being from “Taiwan, China,” after efforts by the government to have the designation changed failed because of opposition from Beijing.
Prince of Tears (淚王子), directed by Hong Kong-based Taiwanese director Yon Fan (楊凡) and nominated for the Golden Lion at the 2009 festival, was labeled “China-Taiwan, Hong Kong” and then “Taiwan-Hong Kong, China” following protests by Taipei.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is