SEOUL, South Korea (AP) \u2014 A group of Chinese artists is boycotting a major art exhibition in South Korea over the organizers\u2019 plans to use the name \u201cTaiwan Pavilion\u201d for an exhibition of works by Taiwanese artists.<\/p>\n
China considers self-governing Taiwan to be part of its territory and rejects the island\u2019s claim to sovereignty. Beijing generally refers to Taiwan as \u201cChina\u2019s Taiwan region.\u201d<\/p>\n
China\u2019s Foreign Ministry on Thursday criticized the South Korean organizers of the biennial Gwangju Biennale, one of Asia\u2019s most prominent art exhibitions, saying the organizers have \u201cstubbornly clung to the wrongful practice, allowing China\u2019s Taiwan region to participate under a designation that is completely incompatible with its status.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China hopes the South Korean government will uphold its political commitment to the \u201cone China\u201d principle through concrete action.<\/p>\n
The Chinese artists said the same day that they were withdrawing from the festival, which opens Saturday and runs through mid-November. <\/p>\n
The \u201cTaiwan Pavilion\u201d is one of about 25 small national and institutional galleries to be operated separately from the biennale\u2019s main exhibition site, under its so-called Pavilion Project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe organizers of the Gwangju Biennale used an incorrect name for China\u2019s Taiwan region over its participation in the exhibition, causing a political issue to spill over onto the realm of art,\u201d Chinese curator Ruan Yuelai told reporters through an interpreter. \u201cThe Chinese exhibition team cannot accept this and unanimously agreed to withdraw from the exhibition to express our strong protest.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Friday afternoon, the Chinese participants had not yet removed their paintings, sculptures and other works originally planned to go on display in the \u201cChina Pavilion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The festival organizers apologize for the \u2018confusion\u2019<\/p>\n
Taiwan\u2019s Ministry of Culture said in August that Taiwan had planned to exhibit under the name \u201cTaiwan Pavilion\u201d but protested that organizers changed it to \u201cNational Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts Pavilion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The art festival said Wednesday that it \u201cdeeply apologizes for causing concerns and confusion\u201d to those involved in its \u201cPavilion Project,\u201d and said there had been differences with the Taiwan museum over the naming issue.<\/p>\n
Organizers said they signed a contract with the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts over its participation, so they thought Taiwanese artists would exhibit under the museum acronym, \u201cNTMoFA.\u201d They said the Taiwanese museum later insisted on the name \u201cTaiwan Pavilion,\u201d and said they felt pressure to accept the name.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the week, China also warned of consequences<\/a> for Taiwan after the island\u2019s foreign minister attended a diplomatic forum in the island country of Palau. In May, China pressured an African country<\/a> to exclude Taiwanese activists from an international human rights conference.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear whether the Chinese protest would trigger a major diplomatic spat with South Korea, which is now ruled by a liberal government which wants to improve ties with China, the country\u2019s biggest trading partner.<\/p>\n