Chinese Politics at the Academy Awards

While most attention at the Academy Awards was focused on the gowns and the ridiculous selection of “Crash” as best picture, most folks in China were probably focused on Taiwanese director Ang Lee’s award for Best Director. Lee is, as far as I know, the first Asian director ever to with the Best Director Oscar, and certainly the first Chinese director to do so. So this was big news in China, and perhaps in Asia as well.

But not so big that the Chinese government would let Lee’s spirited attempt in his speech to foster Greater China unity go uncensored, as the BBC reports. Lee thanked his relatives in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China, but the reference to Taiwan was cut out of the version shown on Chinese TV. Notice that this People’s Daily (english language version) article brusquely ignores Lee’s Taiwan origins. It is no fun being from a country that doesn’t officially exist.