The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday applauded the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) for not changing the color of Taiwan on a sculpture of the globe on its campus, saying the decision tallies with the cross-strait “status quo.”
The university on March 26 unveiled the sculpture, titled The World Turned Upside Down by the Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger, outside its Saw Swee Hock Student Centre.
It is a political globe, 4m in diameter, with nation states and borders outlined, but with “the revolutionary twist of being inverted,” the university’s Web site says.
Photo: CNA
On the sculpture, Taiwan is labeled “Rep. China* (Taiwan)” and colored pink, while China is labeled “China (People’s Republic)” and colored yellow.
The representation irked the university’s Chinese students, who demanded that Taiwan and China be painted the same color, while Taiwanese students submitted a petition with more than 10,000 signatures urging the school to keep the original design.
The school in April said it was consulting experts and mulling changes to the sculpture, but later decided to retain the original design and erected a placard next to it.
“LSE is a place where people with different perspectives engage in respectful debate about major issues for the world,” the placard reads.
“The designated borders, colours, and place names do not imply endorsement by LSE concerning the legal status of any territory or borders,” it says. “There are many disputed borders and the artist has indicated some of these with an asterisk.”
An asterisk was placed beside Taiwan, as well as Palestine, which is entangled in territorial disputes with Israel.
The decision not only respects the artist’s original vision, but also reflects the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said in a statement.
Many British lawmakers, academics and opinion leaders over the past few months have been calling on the school to maintain the artwork as is, the ministry said, expressing gratitude for their attention to the incident.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on April 5 penned an open letter to LSE director Minouche Shafik, calling on the school not to change the artistic design due to Beijing’s pressure.
LSE has inspired many young Taiwanese in the pursuit of academic excellence and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has always been proud of her LSE experience, Wu wrote.
Additional reporting by CNA
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
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
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
RSS