Taipei Times
A-list movie stars about to make a grand entrance at the prestigious Tokyo International Film Festival became the latest victims of turbulent cross-strait relations on Saturday after both the Taiwanese and Chinese delegations missed the star--studded ceremony amid a spat over names.
Despite spending days preparing for the 11-day event, Taiwanese actors and actresses failed to reach the eco-friendly “green carpet” after a Chinese delegation insisted that the Taiwanese group add the word “China” to their country’s name.
“Taiwan, China” or “Chinese Taipei” were the only titles the head of the Chinese delegation, Jiang Ping (江平), said he would accept, threatening to boycott the festival if the change wasn’t made.
“Don’t you want to sell your films in the mainland? Aren’t you all Chinese?” he asked the Taiwanese performers.
Well, at least he has an attitude to go with his whining. The WSJ said that this accomplished two goals at the same time: bring up Taiwan sovereignty AND embarrass the Japanese. Now the question is whether Jiang Ping did this on his own to suck up to the Politburo or if this came from the top.
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