The largest cultural exchange ever between Taiwan and China opened in Beijing yesterday with an exhibition of avant garde Taiwan-ese art.
"Visions of Pluralism: Contemporary Art in Taiwan, 1988-1999" by 75 Taiwanese artists is being shown at Beijing's Museum of Modern Art despite months of heightened tension.
Around 30 of the artists have come to the capital to show their works, some of which evoke Western pop art. One piece by Tang Huang-chen places two televisions beaming the same images opposite at each other.
Despite the crisis which erupted in July over President Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) statement that Taipei-Beijing relations were conducted on a "special state-to-state" basis, the opening ceremony for the exhibition was formal, with China's vice minister of culture Meng Xiaosi attending.
"This exhibition had been planned for a year, well before the two-states theory row," explained Victoria Lu, a Taiwanese art critic and the show's curator. "We didn't know if it would go ahead or not, but the Taiwanese authorities were very supportive."
Although there are no official relations between the two governments, half of the show's cost was met by public funds from Taipei, Lu said.
Lin Cheng-chih (
"Culture is a means of dialogue that everybody understands," she said.
Lin cancelled his planned visit to Beijing at the last minute because of the 921 earthquake and not for political reasons, Lu said.
Exhibit organizers have done little to mask the fact that, except for a short period following World War II, the island has been politically separated from the mainland since the Japanese colonized it in 1895.
"Over 100 years of separation have generated undeniable differences between Taiwan and China," said Lu. "Separation from the mainland has endowed Taiwan with a very unique character and destiny."
She continued: "1988 was the beginning of a new era, in that it was the first year that the development of art became free from political control following the end of martial law in 1987."
The exhibition, which lasts 12 days, has received only sparse coverage by the mainland press.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS