Facing criticism from the opposition over the omission of the word “national” in promotional posters for its exhibition in Japan, National Palace Museum museum officials yesterday called their resolving the issue a “breakthrough” in Taiwanese diplomacy because the Tokyo National Museum complied with the nation’s request to correct the error.
The exhibition opened at the Tokyo National Museum yesterday after the Japanese institution replaced all the incorrect posters at the National Palace Museum’s request.
The show opened yesterday and is to stay in the Japanese capital until Sept. 15, when it is to move to the Kyushu National Museum in Dazaifu, where it is to run from Oct. 7 to Nov. 30.
Photo: CNA
The National Palace Museum said in a press conference that its demands for Japan to adhere to the agreement the two institutions reached regarding the exhibit not only showed Taiwanese that their government is willing to stand up to other nations, but garnered a lot of among Japanese as well.
The “rectification” of the naming blunder is a significant moment in the nation’s cultural and diplomatic history, the museum said.
Commenting on the issue, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Anna Kao (高安) said that the ministry was not directly involved and had helped only to mediate matters, adding that the establishment of the exhibit was done exclusively by the two museums.
The ministry did not reply to questions on whether anyone would take responsibility for the mistake.
Kao said it has to clarify some affairs first before making a response.
The media was initially cool to the exhibition, but after the National Palace Museum warned that it was prepared to revoke its Tokyo counterpart permission to display its artifacts over the naming issue, Japanese outlets such as public broadcaster NHK and the Asahi Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun newspapers followed the incident closely.
The Asahi Shimbun Web site said Tokyo National Museum director Zeniya Masami would be making a public apology to Taiwan at the opening ceremony, while the Sankei Shimbun linked the apology to the exhibit opening on schedule.
The site reported that a crowd of 1,500 was lining up for the show as of yesterday morning.
NHK said it would broadcast a two-day special program starting on Saturday about the exhibition, for which the National Palace Museum provided 186 artifacts.
Museum director Feng Ming-chu (馮明珠) and Representative to Japan Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳) attended the opening ceremony and extended invitations to student representatives from areas hit by the March 11, 2011, earthquake to visit the exhibition.
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