TAIPEI - PRESIDENT Ma Ying-jeou says China should not ban a Taiwanese hit film because it could help mainlanders better understand their neighbors on the self-governed island.

In an interview on Wednesday with Radio Taiwan International, Mr Ma praises 'Cape No. 7' as a film that truly reflects ordinary people's lives. He says he hopes the Chinese will have a chance to view it.

China reportedly has reversed its decision to import the Japan-flavored film - about a Taiwanese rock musician's love for a Japanese woman - for fear it may be offensive to nationalist sentiment on the mainland.

Japan returned Taiwan to Chinese rule in 1945, four years before Taiwan and China split amid civil war. -- AP