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Updated Monday, January 12, 2009 11:09 am TWN, By Benjamin Yeh, AFP

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A tale of two museums unfolds as rivalry thaws

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The major museums of long-term rivals Taiwan and China are planning unprecedented exchange visits and could hold a joint exhibition as the once-bitter distance between them narrows.

In February, director Chou Kung-hsin of the National Palace Museum in Taipei plans to visit the museum's counterpart in Beijing — or, precisely speaking, its predecessor from where most of the popular Taipei museum's rich collection of Chinese objets d'art and artifacts originated.

The visit, if realized, would mark the highest level contact between the two museums in the 60 years since Taiwan and China split at the end of a civil war.

While there, Chou and her delegates “will take a look at the collection of the Beijing Palace Museum and explore the possibility of future cooperation,” said Fung Ming-chu, spokeswoman for the Taipei museum.

Cheng Xinmiao, head of the Palace Museum in Beijing's Forbidden City, would reciprocate the visit in March, she said.

The planned exchange of visits would have been unimaginable less than a year ago when Taiwan was ruled by then-president Chen Shui-bian of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who repeatedly irked Beijing with provocative remarks about the island's sovereignty.

But the tensions across the Strait have eased dramatically since Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) took office in May.

He policy of drawing closer to China has seen the introduction of direct flights and measures aimed at attracting more Chinese tourists and easing restrictions on the island's China-bound investment.

“President Ma has made it clear that he wants to normalise ties between Taiwan and China,” Fung said.

The attempt to promote bilateral cooperation seems to have got off a good start.

The Beijing museum has agreed to lend its Taipei counterpart 17 artifacts to enrich an exhibition slated for October on Emperor Yongzhen (1678-1735) of China's last imperial Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Fung said.

“The exhibit could also be jointly sponsored by the two sides, with details of the cooperation waiting further discussion,” she said.

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