Artifacts from Taipei’s National Palace Museum will not be exhibited in Japan if posters outside the Tokyo Museum don’t properly show that the artifacts came from Taipei’s “National” Palace Museum.
Brochures for the exhibition note that the artifacts come from Taipei’s “National” Palace Museum, but some posters outside the venue are missing the word “national.”
Presidential Office Spokesperson Ma Wei-kuo said on Friday that if Japan doesn’t correct the mistake, the exhibition will be canceled.
“President Ma Ying-jeou is very concerned. He has instructed the Cabinet to ask the National Palace Museum to communicate with the Tokyo National Museum and ask them to make corrections," said Ma.
"The president has also asked the Cabinet to instruct the foreign ministry to file a formal complaint with Japan. If our request doesn’t receive a timely response, the National Palace Museum will cancel its plan to showcase its artifacts in Japan. First Lady Chou Mei-ching will not travel to Japan for the opening ceremony either.”
President Ma said the name “National Palace Museum” has been used for the past 20 years when artifacts went on tour to the United States, France, Germany, and Austria. Therefore, he said it is unacceptable for Japan not to use the museum’s proper name as stipulated in the contract.
Taiwan’s representative to Japan said that if Japan doesn’t replace all the posters that are missing the word “national” by Friday midnight, the first lady and the Taiwanese delegation will cancel their trip to Japan.
The National Palace Museum said there is no room for negotiation. If Japan refuses to replace the problematic posters, all the artifacts will be brought back to Taiwan.