The organizer of the Asia-Pacific Film Festival does not plan to invite South Korean pop groups to perform at the awards ceremony this year, film festival chairman Justin Chou (周守訓) said yesterday.
The announcement came amid a wave of anti-South Korean sentiment in Taiwan over the recent row involving Taiwanese taekwondo athlete Yang Shu-chun (楊淑君) at the Asian Games.
South Korean pop groups, which have a huge following in Taiwan, have frequently been invited to perform at various entertainment awards and events.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES
However, a decision last week to disqualify Yang in the midst of a bout over allegations that she wore extra scoring sensors in her socks at the Games in China has set off anti-South Korean ire in Taiwan. Taekwondo events at the Games are held under the jurisdiction of the Seoul-based Asian Taekwondo Union, which later apologized for an article on its Web site branding Yang and the Taiwanese team as “cheats.”
POSITIVE REVIEWS
When the film festival was held in Taiwan last year, the organizer invited South Korean band Super Junior-M to perform and received positive reviews.
The organizer originally planned to invite South Korean bands, including Girls’ Generation, Wonder Girls and SS501, to perform in this year’s ceremony to be held at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei on Dec. 4.
Chou, a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker and a member of the legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee, said the organizer decided not to invite South Korean groups this year out of concern over public anger at South Korea.
“Something embarrassing may happen if we invite singers from South Korea to perform [at the ceremony],” he said.
Nonetheless, a South Korean film delegation will attend the ceremony as scheduled, adding that although the organizer is worried about possible protests at the ceremony, he believed Taiwanese fans would stay rational.
EGG-WASHED
Meanwhile, Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji (吳清基) yesterday urged restraint as security was enhanced at the Taipei Korean School, which was pelted with eggs several times in the past few days.
“I am here to express my concerns. I hope Taiwan will provide a safe learning environment to all students. The [South Korean] students are innocent,” Wu said after visiting the school.
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