Because of the consensus, the Association of Overseas Chinese in France agreed to repeal a complaint litigation against the playwright, 68-year-old Francois Gibault, a lawyer once lived in Shanghai.

Gibault initiated the negotiations, which took place at his home and lasted for more than two hours, said Lin Jiazhe, vice-chairman of the overseas Chinese association.

In accordance with the agreement, Gibault will have to add a subtitle to his play and the ads, named "Originate from a Humiliating Placard in the Colonial Era", and he also agreed to add one more page containing the same language to all his novels to be published.

Lin said the agreement was a "great success" to the overseas Chinese living in France and also people of Chinese origin all over the world. Unity of all Chinese is the prerequisite to the success, Lin said, adding support of the Chinese government had laid important weight to the case moving in the right direction.

The Association of the Overseas Chinese filed a complaint against the insulting play one week ago, and the France Paris Higher Court was expected to issue a verdict on the play on Sunday.

The title of the play, from an insulting term used in the colonial era of Shanghai during the period of foreign concessions in 1930s and 1940s, had "seriously hurt the feelings of the Chinese nation, both at home and abroad, is unacceptable," a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said last week.

"The Chinese government has made solemn diplomatic representations to France, and demanded it immediately rectify this error," the spokesman said.

(chinadaily.com.cn)