Angelina Jolie became the subject of controversy in China after she labelled film director Ang Lee Taiwanese, not Chinese, inadvertently embroiling herself in complex cross-Strait relations.
The Maleficent actress was asked at a press conference to name her favourite Chinese director, to which she responded with Lee - who created
Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
"I am not sure if you consider Ang Lee Chinese, he's Taiwanese but he does many Chinese-language films with many Chinese artists and actors, and I think his works and the actors in his films are the ones I am most familiar with and very fond of," she said.
Lee was born in Pingtung, in southern Taiwan, but Jolie's comment angered some Chinese natives who were offended by the implication that Taiwan and China are separate countries.
"By implying that Taiwan and China are two separate countries, in a moment of excitement, a brilliant woman [Jolie] became a stupid laughing stock," said one Chinese Weibo user.
