Beijing is fighting to have an artist’s mural promoting independence for Taiwan and Tibet removed from a brick wall in the small town of Corvallis, Oregon.
Two officials from the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco have written to the mayor of Corvallis about the mural and last week visited the town to lodge a formal complaint.
“As you are aware, the First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees freedom of speech in this country and this includes freedom of artistic expression,” Corvallis Mayor Julie Manning has told them.
She has refused to do anything about the 3m by 30m mural, which was painted last month on the wall of an old building by Taiwanese-born artist Chao Tsung-song (趙宗宋).
The vividly colored mural was commissioned by the building’s owner, Taiwanese-born David Lin (林銘新), who is determined to leave it there.
It depicts “images of Taiwan as a bulwark of freedom,” Chinese riot police beating Tibetan demonstrators and Buddhist monks setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule.
The wall on which the mural has been painted is part of a building being redeveloped by Lin as a restaurant.
“There is only one China in the world and both Tibet and Taiwan are parts of China,” the letter to Manning from the Chinese Consulate General said. “To avoid our precious friendship from being tainted by so-called ‘Tibet independence’ and ‘Taiwan independence’ we sincerely hope you can understand our concerns and adopt effective measures to stop the activities advocating ‘Tibet independence’ and ‘Taiwan independence’ in Corvallis.”
After Manning replied saying that she had no authority to regulate art and could do nothing about the mural, Vice Consul Zhang Hao (張浩) and Deputy Consul General Song Ruan (宋如安) visited the town last week.
The two officials met with Manning and City Manager Jim Patterson.
Patterson later told the Corvallis Gazette-Times: “They expressed their concern and the concern of the Chinese government about the mural on Mr Lin’s building. They viewed the message as political propaganda.”
After making it clear that the city could not — and would not — order the mural’s removal, Manning and Patterson agreed to pass on Beijing’s concern to Lin.
“We also had a conversation with them about the US Constitution,” Patterson said.
The Taipei Times was unable to reach officials for comment at the Chinese embassy in Washington or the consulate in San Francisco.
Lin told the Corvallis Gazette-Times that no representatives of the Chinese government had contacted him directly.
However, he said that friends and family were concerned they might face some form of retaliation if they visited China.
“I am under a lot of pressure to take down the mural, but have no plans to do anything of the sort,” he said. “I’ll just keep it the same, I’ve got to live my life, that’s all.”
Lin was born and raised in Taiwan and went to the US in the 1970s.
He said that he was a strong supporter of a free Tibet and an independent Taiwan.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative