President Chen Shui-bian (
Addressing the opening of the AICA 2004 World Congress at the Taipei County Government building, Chen said artistic activities symbolize a country's freedom and creativity while artistic criticism can serve as a bridge between artists and the general public.
As a member of the international community, Chen said, Taiwan is more than willing to make positive contributions to the world and fulfill its duties and obligations.
However, the president said, Taiwan has been shut out of the UN since 1971. For years, he said, Taiwan has faced enormous difficulties taking part in UN-sponsored activities because of Beijing's diplomatic suppression.
Against this backdrop, Chen said, the AICA's choice of Taiwan as the venue for its annual congress is of great significance.
Chen said his administration has consistently placed much emphasis on cultural development and artistic activities and education, with an aim to making Taiwan a country with vitality and creativity. He urged all AICA conference-goers to present valuable advice to help boost Taiwan's cultural development.
The AICA was founded in Paris in 1948 and was recognized as a non-governmental organization by UNESCO in 1951.
The AICA now has branches in 72 member countries, representing more than 4,000 art critics around the world.
Taiwan became a formal member of the organization under the designation of "AICA Taiwan" in 2001 and the AICA authorized Taiwan to hold its 2004 world congress last year.
AICA Taiwan is one of the few local organizations that have been able to join an organization affiliated with UNESCO.
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
RSS