China puts pressure on Strasbourg town hall by demanding the cancellation of a play

The Chinese consulate in Strasbourg has requested the deprogramming of a play devoted to Taiwan in the Alsatian capital, the environmentalist mayor Jeanne Barseghian told AFP on Tuesday March 3, who denounced an intervention “extremely serious”. Le Maillon, theater of the city of Strasbourg, presents from Thursday March 5 to Saturday March 7 the play This is not an embassy (Made in Taiwan) by Swiss director Stefan Kaegi. The piece is intended “a theatrical embassy” for the island deprived of diplomatic representation in most countries in the world and governed separately from mainland China since 1949.

Confirming information from the Rue89 Strasbourg site, the mayor of the city indicated that she had received a letter from the Chinese consulate “requesting the deprogramming of the play on the grounds that it poses a problem in the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France”.

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Governed separately from China since 1949

Jeanne Barseghian specified that she responded during the day to the consulate “recalling French law”namely that “quite simply, creative and artistic freedom is protected in France”. “This should really worry us”added the mayor, who said she had expressed her “support for the Maillon teams” and having approached the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (Drac), itself in connection with the Ministry of Culture, “because it is extremely serious (in a context) of repeated and close attacks against creative freedom”. When requested, the Chinese consulate in Strasbourg did not immediately respond to AFP’s questions.

Communist China, which considers Taiwan as one of its provinces and does not rule out establishing its sovereignty there by force, does not admit any diplomatic relations between the island and foreign countries. By establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1964, Paris had to first break with Taipei, which is now only recognized by a handful of states, including the Vatican.