French City Defies Beijing’s Demand to Cancel Taiwan-Themed Play

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TAIPEI, Taiwan—Communist China, which has long sought to internationally isolate Taiwan and its government, the Republic of China (ROC), to legitimize its system of governance across all of China, has now taken issue with a Taiwan-themed play in France.

“This Is Not an Embassy,” a play directed by award-winning Swiss director Stefan Kaegi, recently staged three performances at Le Maillon theater in Strasbourg.

Before the performances began, the Chinese Consulate-General in Strasbourg wrote to both the theater and Strasbourg Mayor Jeanne Barseghian, asking them to cancel the show. Both refused, and Barseghian later went to the press, criticizing the action as “extremely serious” and an attack on artistic expression in the European nation.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing considers Taiwan, a self-governed liberal democratic island, as part of its territory and has vowed to take control of it, by force if necessary. The CCP and ROC remain technically at war, with no armistice or peace treaty to resolve the Chinese Civil War.

The production features three Taiwanese natives, including a former diplomat, who share their personal stories while establishing a fictional embassy on stage—a symbol of the diplomatic recognition that Taiwan largely lacks.

Kaegi said he was staying “relatively cool about” the Chinese consulate’s efforts.

“We already know there are authorities from China that are not happy about certain things we say in our play,” he told The Epoch Times. “I would really like to know if they have ever seen the play.”

Barseghian and Le Maillon did not respond to requests for comment.

Taiwan’s representative office in France applauded Strasbourg for its “firm stance” in a March 4 statement.

“‘This Is Not an Embassy’ explores Taiwan’s unique position on the international stage,” the representative office said. “Beyond Taiwan’s own story, it sparks a global conversation about democracy and identity. Any form of censorship or repression will only increase the visibility of Taiwan’s resilience and highlight the fundamental importance of democratic values.”

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(L-R) Debby Wang, David Wu, and Kuo Chiayo in the play “This Is Not an Embassy.” Claudia Ndebele/Courtesy of Rimini Protokoll

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Kaegi recalled that Switzerland’s Department of Foreign Affairs received some “nervous phone calls,” and in Austria, Chinese officials sent text messages to the Vienna theater company presenting the play, threatening that its future tours in China could be jeopardized if it allowed “This Is Not an Embassy” to proceed.

In some Asian nations, fear of the CCP’s economic coercion has led to significant self censorship by venue teams, Kaegi said.

In South Korea, the festival director who invited the play in 2024 got into “a lot of trouble” with the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was “very nervous about what could happen,” Kaegi said. He said the show also can’t be shown in Singapore or Japan. Japanese theaters his company contacted described it as “too political,” he said.

The Epoch Times has contacted the South Korean and Japanese Ministries of Foreign Affairs for comment.

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(L-R) Debby Wang, David Wu, and Kuo Chiayo in the play “This Is Not an Embassy.” Claudia Ndebele/Courtesy of Rimini Protokoll

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“Unfortunately, we obviously cannot show the play in China. But we’re not the only art that cannot be shown in China,” Kaegi said.

The CCP’s tactics of coercion that Kaegi described, in the hopes of pressuring theaters to self-censor, have been repeatedly seen in the arts.

He wondered why a trade office would contact him, given that he was not a businessman. Later, he realized that the office was effectively an embassy under another name.

Kaegi said he was fascinated by how “creative” Taiwan is in showing sovereignty, with its own currency, passport, and liberal democratic system.

Since Beijing, officially the People’s Republic of China, took over the “China” seat at the United Nations in place of the ROC in 1971, most nations switched their diplomatic recognition and maintained only unofficial relationships with Taipei.

Currently, Taiwan has 12 remaining diplomatic allies, including Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, Eswatini, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Tuvalu.

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Debby Wang and David Wu in the play “This Is Not an Embassy.” Claudia Ndebele/Courtesy of Rimini Protokoll

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In 2022, Kagei spent seven weeks in Taiwan. He said he spoke with about 70 people, including diplomats, scientists, geologists, journalists, and people with Taiwanese military or intelligence backgrounds. In the end, he cast three Taiwanese nationals—a retired diplomat, a digital activist, and a musician—who are not professional actors, in the play.

Kaegi said his theater company has long worked with non-actors, such as truck drivers and call center employees, drawing on people with a wide range of backgrounds. “It’s kind of a documentary strategy, like a documentary film,” he said.

The cast includes David Wu, a career diplomat who has served in countries including South Africa, Vietnam, and Thailand, and who was Taiwan’s ambassador to Belize, according to the play’s production booklet. The remaining two cast members are Kuo Chiayo, who founded the Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association, and Debby Wang, a vibraphonist and heiress to a bubble tea company.

By creating an embassy onstage, Wu, Kuo, and Wang discuss their perspectives relating to issues such as the Taiwan flag, their national identity, and the possibility of reunification with China, Kaegi said. He said it’s “three case studies” of what it is like to live in Taiwan, while remaining connected to the international community.

People from mainland China have watched the play. Some were shocked because it goes against what they learned in school, which teaches Taiwan as part of China, while others were touched because they understood “why the Taiwanese are so proud of their democracy,” according to Kaegi.

Kaegi said that the play does not deliver a “simplified message.” He noted that in Europe, many people only hear about Taiwan when China conducts military exercises near the island, but “that’s just one side of the story—there is much more complexity.”

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(L-R) Debby Wang, David Wu, and Kuo Chiayo in the play “This Is Not an Embassy.” Claudia Ndebele/Courtesy of Rimini Protokoll

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Kaegi has received dozens of accolades throughout his career. In 2018, his production Nachlass earned him the BITEF Grand Prix of the Jury and the Politika Award for Best Direction.

What happened around his play has made the CCP’s international coercion regarding Taiwan more visible, he said.

“Our piece seems to be relevant, because China is closely observing what we’re doing,” he said.

He said that he’s “quite confident” in freedom of the arts in Europe.

“China cannot take this away from us,” he said.

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