Separatist antics halt cross-Straits exchanges

Movies and personnel from the Chinese mainland will not be taking part in the 56th Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei in November. The announcement by the China Film Administration via the official social media account of its publication China Film News is the latest sign of the tense atmosphere that has developed in cross-Straits relations.

Given that the China Golden Rooster Film Festival will be held the same day as the Taipei event in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, some might speculate that the scheduling conflict of the two concurrent events might have prompted the decision.

However, considering the current cross-Straits relations and the furor sparked by last year's Golden Horse Awards ceremony, the suspension should come as no surprise. In the past three years, cross-Straits relations have gone from bad to worse thanks to Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen's pro-independence stance and increasing hostility toward the mainland.