The awards ceremony at the "Chinese Oscars" has been overshadowed by controversy surrounding the status of Taiwan, with live coverage being cut during an acceptance speech.

Key points: Documentary director Fu Yue said she hoped Taiwan would one day be "truly independent"

Documentary director Fu Yue said she hoped Taiwan would one day be "truly independent" Taiwan's status is controversial as China believes it should be a Chinese province

Taiwan's status is controversial as China believes it should be a Chinese province Thousands of Chinese netizens hit back at her on social media, but she defended her stance

In the 55th year of China's Golden Horse awards, which recognise the best in Chinese language film, the focus of attention shifted from the awards to geopolitics.

Fu Yue, who won the Best Documentary award for Our Youth in Taiwan — a film about Taiwan's 2014 Sunflower Movement — used her acceptance speech to speak of her wish for Taiwan's independence.

"I hope one day our country will be recognised and treated as a truly independent entity," Fu said in her speech.

"This is my biggest wish as a Taiwanese."

Fu (L) was very emotional after winning the award. ( Supplied: China Golden Horse Awards )

Her speech was quickly censored on Chinese television and streams, with the coverage going black, but it remained playing on YouTube.

Taiwan has been self-ruling since 1949, but with Beijing still considering Taiwan to be a wayward province and a key part of 'one China', Taiwan's sovereignty has been heavily limited.

Earlier this year, Beijing ordered international airlines to stop naming Taiwan a country and even threatened war with the US-backed nation.

After Fu's speech, former best actor winner from mainland China Tu Men increased the tensions in Taipei's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall by saying he was honoured to present an award in "China, Taiwan" — a term rejected by many in Taiwan as belittling the country's status.

He added: "Both sides of the strait belong to one family."

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen slammed the use of the phrase, stating Taiwan had, "never accepted the phrase 'China, Taiwan', and never would, because Taiwan is Taiwan".

'Stop being a frog at the bottom of a well'

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The controversary blew up online in China, becoming a 'super topic' on Weibo. A post from China Daily reached more than 8.87 billion reads and attracted 12 million comments, much of which were pro 'one-China'.

"No-one can change the one-China principle, no-one can change the fact that Taiwan is China's territory," Weibo user Dan-Reynolds posted.

"As a Chinese, we will defend the motherland to the death, and we love our country. His name is China."

Mainland Chinese publications shared "One China" maps that included Taiwan, while some celebrities shared a post from the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League that claimed, "not even a bit can be left behind" when it comes to China.

Even state media site People's Daily chimed in, posting a "One China" map including Taiwan. ( Weibo: People's Daily )

Not shaken by the negative reaction to her speech, Fu expanded her position on Facebook, stating she did not make her speech "on the spur of the moment" or "at the behest of the Democratic Progressive Party's Government".

"I certainly have regrets that I may no longer be able to communicate with many excellent Chinese filmmakers in the future," Fu said in her post.

"But I am willing to bear and have no regrets about all the consequences I may face in my future career."

She called for those with differing opinions on the matter to try and talk through the situation, stating that she hoped this, "may be the beginning of another conversation".

But as they did on Weibo, her comments drew scathing and widespread criticism on Facebook, with thousands of comments from Chinese netizens.

"I feel really sad for you. You are still living in the world of your own imagination. Your life is in vain," Ding Jiexin commented.

"Democracy? Rule of law? Freedom of speech? I am really sad for you for still having fantasies about Taiwan's so-called 'democratic freedom'.

"Hey, wake up and stop being a frog at the bottom of a well."

Our Youth in Taiwan covers the huge Sunflower Movement student protests of 2014. ( Reuters: Toby Chang )

Professor Yia-Chung Chang of the Department of Politics at the National Taiwan University said comments about the status of Taiwan were bound to cause controversy, particularly when made on a large stage.

"We believe that Ms Fu was inspired by her own feelings, however when she said these words, she opens the Pandora's box," Dr Chang told the ABC.

"As an artist, she might not have thought that deep. Maybe she just wanted to utter her feelings. She may only be thinking about her own ideology."

He said, "Cross-strait relations are too easy to stir up, too fragile and too sensitive", and suggested maybe Fu, "didn't think about whether it's appropriate to say so on this occasion at all".