The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Beijing for what it called brutal interference in blocking an exhibition of Taiwanese art at the Central State Museum of the Republic of Kazakhstan earlier this month.
The exhibition, titled “Shifting Grounds: Dissonance, Memory, and Landscape as a Site of Becoming,” was curated by Wang Chun-chi (王俊琪) and featured works by eight Taiwanese artists, including Chen Yung-hsien (陳永賢).
It was scheduled to run in Almaty from Sept. 12 to Wednesday next week under the label “Taiwan Contemporary Art Exhibition.”
Photo: Screen grab from the Internet
However, under Chinese pressure, the museum abruptly announced that it would begin a one-month renovation on Sept. 11, canceling the exhibition and terminating the contract, MOFA said.
Taiwan’s representative office in Moscow learned of the situation on Sept. 10 and immediately contacted the museum, asking whether the renovation could be delayed.
The museum responded that the exhibition had been added at short notice and apologized for the scheduling conflict, the ministry said.
MOFA said it was unreasonable for the museum to abruptly cancel the exhibition after the artists had already arrived in Kazakhstan, adding that “traces of China’s intervention were too obvious.”
“Art and culture exchanges should have been non-political, but China brutally interfered and hindered the arts and cultural activity,” the ministry said, adding that it strongly condemns China’s action and expresses deep regret that the exhibition organizer had succumbed to China’s pressure.
While Beijing continues to suppress Taiwan in the international community, the ministry said it remains committed to defending the nation’s international space, and would deepen exchanges and cooperation with other countries to build global support and understanding of Taiwan.
The statement came after protesters waving People’s Republic of China (PRC) flags gathered outside the National Museum of the Czech Republic in Prague on Sept. 11, the opening day of the first exhibition of artifacts from Taiwan’s National Palace Museum at the venue.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office denounced the exhibition as an attempt to promote “cultural Taiwanese independence” and “de-Sinicization” of Taiwan.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) said Beijing has never stopped seeking to oppress Taiwan, even in the realm of arts and cultural exchange.
The exhibition in Prague emphasized “international exchange and Zhonghua [中華, Chinese] culture,” which had nothing to do with Taiwanese independence, she said.
China is deliberately planning to annex and eliminate the Republic of China (ROC), she said.
The Chinese Communist Party’s approach has evolved, including dispatching people to wave PRC flags at Taiwanese exhibitions in countries where it cannot force cancelations, to confuse local residents that Taiwan belongs to the PRC, she said.
National Cheng Kung University political science professor Hung Chin-fu (洪敬富) said that culture, sports and art should transcend national borders, yet China politicizes them and labels such events as efforts at “cultural Taiwanese independence” and uses “wolf-warrior diplomacy” to suppress Taiwan’s international space.
China’s actions are barbaric and would not win respect in civilized societies, he said.
Additional reporting by Chen Fu-yu
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Friday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
FORCED LABOR: A US court listed three Taiwanese and nine firms based in Taiwan in its indictment, with eight of the companies registered at the same address Nine companies registered in Taiwan, as well as three Taiwanese, on Tuesday were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as a result of a US federal court indictment. The indictment unsealed at the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, said that Chen Zhi (陳志), a dual Cambodian-British national, is being indicted for fraud conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding Group’s forced-labor scam camps in Cambodia. At its peak, the company allegedly made US$30 million per day, court documents showed. The US government has seized Chen’s noncustodial wallet, which contains
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
RSS