A row between Tokyo and Taipei over the loan of a host of treasured artefacts to Japan has been solved, Taiwanese officials said today, with the exhibition set to open on schedule.
The disagreement broke out last week after the name of Taiwan's national museum was changed in promotional posters advertising an upcoming exhibition in Japan -- a spat that highlighted Taipei's sensitivity over its global diplomatic status.
Hundreds of artefacts and artworks from the Taipei National Palace Museum were due to go on display in Japan for the first time.
But Taiwan threatened to cancel the event after it emerged that the word "national" had been omitted from a number of promotional posters and tickets.
The name issue has long been a sensitive topic for Taiwan, which is recognised by only 22 countries after a decades-old diplomatic tug-of-war with China from which it split in 1949.
The row was solved at the last minute after the Tokyo National Museum, the exhibition's main sponsor, fixed the problematic posters, museum officials in Taipei said.
"I got phone calls from my colleagues around 7:00am confirming that all the problematic posters have been fixed," Feng Ming-chu, director of the Taipei museum, told reporters Monday shortly before her departure for Tokyo.
Feng added that the decision was made in a rush, making it unlikely that Taiwan's first lady would attend today's opening.
Chow Mei-ching, the wife of President Ma Ying-jeou, postponed a rare visit to Japan after the naming row broke out.
When reached by AFP for comment, a spokeswoman for President Ma Ying-jeou's office said she could not predict if and when Chow could resume her trip.
Feng added that the Tokyo museum owes Taiwan an apology for its mistake. Taiwanese officials have insisted the Tokyo museum guaranteed in a contract that the lender's full name would be used and that the word "national" would not be omitted.
