Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee poses
with his best director Oscar.
Photograph: Reed Saxon/AP
China seems to be adopting a strategy of cultural diplomacy in its bid to convince the Taiwanese that it is actually cuddly and furry, just like a panda bear, writes Chris Johnston.
Part of the approach includes heaping praise on the Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee, after he won the Oscar for best director at the Academy Awards on Sunday.
"Ang Lee is the pride of Chinese people all over the world, and he is the glory of Chinese cinematic talent," the official China Daily newspaper proclaims on its front page today.
But any Chinese film fans wanting to see the movie for which he won his award are being denied the privilege.
Censors decided to ban Brokeback Mountain, his gay cowboy love story, because of its "sensitive topic". Pirate DVD copies of the film are openly sold on the streets of Beijing and other cities, though.
China continues to attempt to tighten its grip on Taiwan following the "anti-separation" law passed last year. But despite the political friction, the two sides have extensive investment and trade ties. Taiwanese movies, music, soap operas and other pop culture are hugely popular in China.
China's official sentiments toward homosexuality are equally complex. Its official psychiatric association no longer deems homosexuality a form of sexual deviancy, but most gay men and lesbians live double lives for fear of being ostracised.
Films with gay themes are widely available on pirate DVDs, yet conservative censors continue to reject discussion of gay life on television or in the mainstream media.
Tong Ge, one of China's few openly gay authors, said: "At least this kind of movie provides a chance for the general public to learn more about these types of emotions ... and then maybe to accept the ways that homosexuals express these emotions."
