Although his prize-winning painting was disqualified from becoming a commemorative stamp because the UNESCO succumbed to pressure from Beijing, the 15-year-old Yang Chih-yuan (楊智淵) said yesterday that he will not be frustrated by China and will stand by his passion for the arts and his country.
Last Thursday, Beijing pressured the UNESCO to scrap Yang's selected work which was meant to be printed on stamps to commemorate International Peace Day on Sept. 21, saying that Taiwan's national flag shown in the boy's painting was an attempt at "splitting China's territory."
In addition to Taiwan, five other paintings drawn by child artists from Thailand, Israel, Indonesia and Peru and Philippines were also chosen to become commemorative stamps. Yang's work, however, was soon dropped and replaced by the work of a Belize boy after UNESCO buckled under pressure from Beijing.
Pan Wen-chuang (潘文忠), director of Taipei County's bureau of education yesterday went to Yang's Junior High School in Hsinchu to encourage Yang to continue to be a voice for Taiwan through his art. Pan gave Yang a commendation and a new set of paint supplies as motivation to continue his work.
"China's actions toward this child are unacceptable," Pan said yesterday.
"The creation of art should not be hindered by political matters ... that they would stoop so low is regrettable," he added.
With an impressive array of colors, Yang's work represents children's desire for peace and security.
In the picture, two children are riding a dove, symbolizing the escape from war and towards a peaceful nation. The right side shows a scene of war, with homeless children crying amid looming tanks, while the left side of the picture shows a joyful earth with vivid colors.
Most noticeably, a string of DNA-like spiral comprising national flags goes around the dove. The ROC flag is among them.
Yang said that his painting was inspired by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US.
"I just don't understand why my art was dragged into politics," Yang said yesterday. "I was born in Taiwan. I just want to draw what is in my mind. I will go on painting and I will have no misgivings about drawing the national flag into my work," Yang said.
Yang suffered from hydrocephalus when he was born. At only 3 months old he underwent an operation to install a tube in his head to channel water to his abdomen. This tube created limitations for the child, and his sense of equilibrium and motor skills were also hindered by the surgery.
"But it also helped me concentrate on painting," the boy said. "I can always have a calm head."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized China's move by issuing a protest statement on Sunday, and the Chunghwa Post Co (中華郵政公司) will soon publish stamps of Yang's work at the suggestion of the Presidential Office.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS