The Presidential Office denied a report yesterday that first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) would visit Kyushu when a National Palace Museum exhibition goes on display there in October, saying her trip to Japan remains on hold.
Asked about the report, Presidential Office spokesman Ma Wei-kuo (馬瑋國) said there were no plans for such a trip at present.
Chow was scheduled to visit Tokyo on June 22 for the opening ceremony of the exhibition of ancient Chinese treasures from the museum on June 23.
However, her trip was postponed after a diplomatic row erupted over Japanese posters promoting the show that omitted the word “National” from the museum’s name, which Taiwan perceived as a slight to its sovereignty.
Authorities at the Tokyo National Museum resolved the problem in time for the exhibition to open as scheduled on June 24, but the solution came too late for Chow to appear at the show’s Tokyo opening.
However, the door was left open for President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) wife to visit Japan, and the Apple Daily Chinese-language newspaper yesterday reported that she could travel to Kyushu in October when the exhibition is scheduled to open at the Kyushu National Museum in Dazaifu, Fukuoka Prefecture.
The paper said the purpose of her trip would be to cement relations between Taiwan and Japan.
The National Palace Museum announced the loan of 231 artifacts to Japan last year. It is the first time a National Palace Museum collection is on display in another Asian nation, following exhibitions in the US, France, Germany and Austria.
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