Local comic book artists are collaborating on a project to celebrate Taiwan-related imagery in a bid to highlight the nation’s soft power, as well as draw the government’s attention to intellectual property rights.
One hundred artists from around the nation gathered during the past two weeks to prepare for the Taiwan Comic Artist Show, organizers said, adding that support for the event has been staggering.
Manga artist and Taipei City Comic Artists Guild chairman Lai Yu-hsien (賴有賢) said that Taiwan lacks its own comic art style and culture, and artists typically mimic works from Japan and the US.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Comic Artist Labor Union
The government often commissions work from foreign art studios, overlooking the work of local artists, Lai said, adding that in East Asia, only Taiwan still fails to protect its artists’ intellectual property rights.
“I thought if I brought 100 local artists together to create works depicting the things that are uniquely Taiwanese it would be a magnificent sight,” Lai said, adding that he was sad to see the work of local artists being ignored.
Various well-known artists including Au Yao-hsing (敖幼祥), Uen Cheng (鄭問), Hsiao Yen-chung (蕭言中), Yeh Yu-tung (葉羽桐) and Mickeyman (米奇鰻), pledged support for the exhibition, Lai said, adding that the artists will share a 5m long canvas for their finished works.
Each artist will paint a Taiwan-themed image, such as a famous scenic spot like Alishan or Turtle Island (Guishan, 龜山島), a local dish, such as steamed dumplings or beef noodles, or a creative rendering, such as Hualien’s Cingshuei Cliffs (清水斷崖) taking on the shape of a woman’s body, Lai said.
Artists aim to complete the canvas by Friday with an unveiling at Taipei’s Huashan 1914 Creative Park, he said.
The Ministry of Culture gave NT$400,000 for the exhibition, Taipei Comic Artist Labor Union director Chung Meng-shun (鍾孟舜) said.
Exhibition organizers said the event aims to draw the government’s attention to the value of local artists’ work.
Chung said he uncovered numerous instances of government agencies using copyrighted or poorly designed images in campaigns, adding: “Taiwan has lots of creative people — why does the government not use them?”
Lai said that highlighting creative talent could help put the spotlight on the nation, citing similar efforts made by Japan during its campaign to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS