China is boycotting a major Asian art festival over the naming of a Taiwanese exhibition

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A group of Chinese artists is boycotting a major art exhibition in South Korea over the organizers' plans to use the name “Taiwan Pavilion" for an exhibition of works by Taiwanese artists.

China considers self-governing Taiwan to be part of its territory and rejects the island’s claim to sovereignty. Beijing generally refers to Taiwan as “China’s Taiwan region.”

China’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday criticized the South Korean organizers of the biennial Gwangju Biennale, one of Asia's most prominent art exhibitions, saying the organizers have "stubbornly clung to the wrongful practice, allowing China’s Taiwan region to participate under a designation that is completely incompatible with its status.”

Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China hopes the South Korean government will uphold its political commitment to the “one China” principle through concrete action.

The Chinese artists said the same day that they were withdrawing from the festival, which opens Saturday and runs through mid-November.

The “Taiwan Pavilion” is one of about 25 small national and institutional galleries to be operated separately from the biennale’s main exhibition site, under its so-called Pavilion Project.

“The organizers of the Gwangju Biennale used an incorrect name for China’s Taiwan region over its participation in the exhibition, causing a political issue to spill over onto the realm of art,” Chinese curator Ruan Yuelai told reporters through an interpreter. “The Chinese exhibition team cannot accept this and unanimously agreed to withdraw from the exhibition to express our strong protest.”

As of Friday afternoon, the Chinese participants had not yet removed their paintings, sculptures and other works originally planned to go on display in the “China Pavilion.”

Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture said in August that Taiwan had planned to exhibit under the name “Taiwan Pavilion” but protested that organizers changed it to “National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts Pavilion.”

The art festival said Wednesday that it “deeply apologizes for causing concerns and confusion” to those involved in its “Pavilion Project," and said there had been differences with the Taiwan museum over the naming issue.

Organizers said they signed a contract with the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts over its participation, so they thought Taiwanese artists would exhibit under the museum acronym, “NTMoFA.” They said the Taiwanese museum later insisted on the name “Taiwan Pavilion,” and said they felt pressure to accept the name.

Earlier in the week, China also warned of consequences for Taiwan after the island’s foreign minister attended a diplomatic forum in the island country of Palau. In May, China pressured an African country to exclude Taiwanese activists from an international human rights conference.

It's unclear whether the Chinese protest would trigger a major diplomatic spat with South Korea, which is now ruled by a liberal government which wants to improve ties with China, the country's biggest trading partner.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry said the naming decision was made by a non-governmental entity and has nothing to do with the government. It said South Korea hopes the latest issue won't affect relations and cooperation between the two countries.

Taiwan is a self-ruled island, but China claims it as part of its territory. The two sides split after a civil war in 1949. Beijing has stepped up its pressure on Taiwan, poaching diplomatic allies. The island now only has 12 diplomatic allies around the world.

Associated Press writer Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.