As of press time last night, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had not decided whether an exhibition of National Palace Museum pieces would be held as scheduled in Japan, although officials said earlier yesterday that the Tokyo National Museum “has shown sincerity” in wanting to resolve the naming row.
As of 10:30pm last night, the government had not responded to proposals made by the Tokyo museum yesterday morning to remove or replace all posters referring to the Taipei museum as the “Palace Museum, Taipei,” before Saturday.
The Ma administration on Friday issued an ultimatum to the Japanese organizers involved with the exhibition to remove posters referring to “Palace Museum” instead of “National Palace Museum” by 11pm last night (midnight last night in Tokyo), or Taiwan would cancel the event to safeguard “national dignity.”
Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Taipei Times
Following the ultimatum, the nation’s Representative to Japan Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳) held intensive negotiations with the Tokyo National Museum overnight, Chen Tyau-her (陳調和), deputy chief of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday.
At the same time, the Tokyo National Museum began to remove posters that did not include the word “national” in the Taiwanese museum’s name and address the omission of the word, Chen said.
Earlier yesterday morning, the Tokyo museum promised the office that none of the posters would be on display by Saturday next week, Chen said.
Photo: EPA
The reason for the later completion date than the government’s deadline was that the Tokyo National Museum can only work on the posters put up in metro and railway stations when train services are closed at night, Chen said.
“They [Tokyo National Museum] have shown sincerity” to fix the issue, he added.
The posters in question were said to be prepared by a media sponsor group for the event comprising major media outlets, including NHK, the Asahi Shimbun and other TV stations and newspapers, while the posters provided by the Tokyo museum use the Taipei museum’s full name.
Chen said the Tokyo National Museum yesterday backed down from insisting that use of the term “Palace Museum, Taipei” by the media group was beyond its control.
The position previously held by the Tokyo museum that it has no right to interfere with material prepared by media outlets because of freedom of speech was “untenable,” Chen said.
“The posters have nothing to do with freedom of speech or editorial independence,” he added.
Ma deliberated the proposals made by the Tokyo National Museum throughout yesterday, after Shen relayed information to Taipei earlier in the day, a diplomatic source said last night.
If the issue is resolved, a delegation led by first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) is to depart for Japan at 9am today to attend the opening ceremony of the exhibition titled “Treasured Masterpieces from the National Palace Museum, Taipei.”
Although the Tokyo museum has shown sincerity, members of the delegation were all told to stand by before a final decision is made by the Presidential Office, Association of East Asian Relations Chairman Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) said.
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
MISSILE MISSION: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology said it does not make policy, but would be glad to obtain certification to assemble the missiles The Ministry of National Defense-affiliated Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is in the process of getting certified to assemble an additional 1,985 Stinger missiles on top of those from US arms sales, a senior defense official said yesterday. Washington is to send a team to Taiwan to evaluate the institute’s manufacturing capabilities and information security, said the official, who commented on condition of anonymity. The ministry initially bought 500 missiles for the army and navy, but later increased the order to 2,485 in response to an increase in Beijing’s military activities around the nation, and to meet the army’s urgent need
RSS