Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) last month held a meeting in New Taipei City to discuss “cultural diplomacy,” with a particular focus on the Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, which is to be held next month.
Taiwan could not take part in this world-class festival under its own national name. Its international visibility is again compromised by political reality.
However, a project of building “Taiwan’s own pavilion” has been initiated by civil society, bringing light into darkness. The unofficial project was coordinated by civil groups including the Central Taiwan Association of University Professors.
The project’s plan is to build a pavilion with 2,300 wood pillars to represent the collective will of 23 million Taiwanese. The wood pillars are not only building materials, but would also deliver a political metaphor and a cultural expression to the world — despite being suppressed and marginalized, Taiwan would not be absent.
“Taiwan’s own pavilion” is not only a strategic cultural breakthrough, but also a civic action attempting to cover for the government’s limitations.
When the legislature slashed the budget for the “Yushan Pavilion,” limiting the government’s participation, civil groups raised funds, came up with creative designs, made plans and curated the project, demonstrating the resilience and creativity of Taiwanese society.
While their action is worth rounds of applause, it also calls for reflection. The opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party slashed and froze the general budget proposed by the government, leaving citizens to fend for themselves, demonstrating the predicament faced by the government under the current balance of political powers.
The opposition lawmakers manifested their short-sightedness in policymaking by slashing budgets for Taiwan’s international participation.
This is a critical moment to integrate resources to showcase Taiwan’s achievements at a world-class festival, and yet we failed to do so. If the government continues to be absent, Taiwan would not be able to shine on the global stage.
What is more worrying is that this method of global participation is apparently unsustainable. Although the Ministry of Culture has plans to hold cultural activities in Japan, Taiwan could only rely on fundraising by civic groups, while other countries have pavilions present at the Expo in the name of their countries and have comprehensive strategies of cultural diplomacy.
“Taiwan’s own pavilion” carries a powerful implication — civil society can cover for the government in its absence.
However, in the long run, Taiwan’s international status cannot be consolidated only by civil society’s efforts and enthusiasm.
The government should address the problem, promote cultural diplomacy, proactively seek international support, strengthen cooperation with allies and develop a long-term and stable international participation strategy.
We should not let civil society fight on its own. The government should not be allowed to use political reality as an excuse for its inaction.
Only when the government works together with the public can Taiwan truly step on the world stage to enhance its international visibility and garner support.
Edwin Yang is an associate professor at National Taiwan Normal University and chairman of the Central Taiwan Association of University Professors.
Translated by Fion Khan
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