The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its concern to the London School of Economics (LSE) after the school decided to change the design of a campus sculpture to depict Taiwan as part of China.
The ministry has asked its representative office in the UK to demand that the school reconsider the decision, which belittles Taiwan’s sovereign status, spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) said.
Lee’s comments came in response to a decision by the LSE to change the painting of a sculpture to show that Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Photo: CNA
On Tuesday last week, the LSE unveiled the new sculpture by the Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger outside its Saw Swee Hock Student Centre.
The World Turned Upside Down is a large political globe, 4m in diameter, with nation states and borders outlined, but with “the revolutionary twist of being inverted,” according to the LSE Web site.
Most of the landmasses now lie in the “bottom” hemisphere, with nations and cities labeled for this new orientation, it says.
Photo: CNA
However, after the sculpture’s unveiling, Chinese students at LSE noticed that Taiwan was in a different color to China and they protested.
“We are deeply disappointed by this arrangement, and we firmly hold the position that Taiwan is a part of China and the PRC should be the only legal representative of China,” a statement released by Chinese LSE students said.
They called on the school to take action “to prevent any future confusion resulting from the sculpture.”
Taiwanese students at LSE issued their own statement, calling on the school to keep the original design with the Republic of China (ROC) as a separate sovereign state.
“As a sovereign state, the ROC [Taiwan] has its own democratic political institution, and respects the separation of powers and rule of law. We have our own ministries of diplomacy, national defense and interior affairs, with which PRC has no interference,” a letter from the Taiwanese students to the school said.
“Altering the content of the original sculpture not only disrespects the artist, but also denies the fact that the ROC is a sovereign state and further influences the understanding of Taiwan in the LSE community,” it added.
Following a meeting on Wednesday between Taiwanese students and their Chinese counterparts organized by the school, the LSE decided to accept the latter’s proposal to change the globe’s original design by making Taiwan the same color as the PRC.
The school pointed out that all maps released by the UN show Taiwan as a part of the PRC, making it difficult for the Taiwanese students to convince the school to keep the original design, Taiwanese LSE student Huang Li-an (黃立安) said.
The LSE put up a sign beside the sculpture saying that it understood and respected “that strong feelings exist around statehood and identity,” but called on students to engage in respectful exchanges on such issues.
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
REBUFFED: In response to Chinese criticism over recent arms sales, Washington urged Beijing to engage in meaningful dialogue instead of threats and intimidation Washington’s long-term commitment to Taiwan would not change, the US Department of State said yesterday, urging Beijing to stop pressuring Taiwan and engage in meaningful bilateral dialogues. The remarks came in response to a backlash from Beijing about Washington’s latest approval of arms sales to Taiwan. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement on Wednesday that the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US has asked to purchase an arms package, including Tactical Mission Network Software; AH-1W helicopter spare and repair parts; M109A7 self-propelled howitzers; HIMARS long range precision strike systems; tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missiles; Javelin
RSS