Taichung police on Saturday released 14 people suspected of vandalizing murals at the city’s Rainbow Village tourist site.
The village contains murals and other street art by 98-year-old veteran Huang Yung-fu (黃永阜), who in 2008 started painting on the buildings of a military dependents’ village that were slated for demolition.
Police said that 14 workers from Rainbow Creative Co, which the Taichung City Government contracted in 2013 to maintain the designated cultural landmark, including company head Wei Pi-jen (魏丕仁), were caught painting over Huang’s murals.
Photo courtesy of the Taichung City Government via CNA
Taichung prosecutors are investigating.
Wei told local media that the action was to protest the government’s unilateral decision to have them move out of the village today.
However, a dispute over profit sharing has emerged as Wei argued that Huang’s murals were “passed down” to his company five years ago and that the village was now part of the company’s intellectual property.
Photo: Su Chin-feng, Taipei Times
The Taichung City Government said its contract with the company to run the village and sell related merchandise was terminated yesterday ahead of the start of construction to reinforce buildings in the village.
The park would be closed for six months before resuming operations in February next year, city officials said, adding that the intellectual property issue is being reviewed in court.
Regardless of the dispute, any damage to the village is intolerable, the Taichung Cultural Affairs Bureau said, adding that it would sue Rainbow Creative for damages.
Upon learning of the vandalism, Huang yesterday called Wei a “bad guy” and told reporters that his lifework was ruined.
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
CAUTION URGED: Xiaohongshu and Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — are tools the Chinese government uses for its ‘united front’ propaganda, the MAC said Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) yesterday urged people who use Chinese social media platforms to be cautious of being influenced by Beijing’s “united front” propaganda and undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty. Chiu made the remarks in response to queries about Chinese academic Zhang Weiwei (張維為) saying that as young Taiwanese are fond of interacting on Chinese app Xiaohongshu (小紅書, known as RedNote in English), “after unification with China, it would be easier to govern Taiwan than Hong Kong.” Zhang is professor of international relations at Shanghai’s Fudan University and director of its China Institute. When giving a speech at China’s Wuhan