Two Taiwanese independence supporters plan to hand-paint a 30.5m long mural on the wall of a company in Corvallis, Oregon, in an effort to increase awareness in the US that Taiwan is an independent country.
According to Taiwanese painter Chao Tsung-song (趙宗宋), the idea of a mural dedicated to Taiwanese independence was originally proposed by David Lin (林銘新), a Taiwanese businessman who owns Corvallis Micro Technology.
“I met Lin during the run-up to the presidential election this year, and he mentioned wanting to decorate the wall of his company with a mural promoting Taiwanese independence so more US citizens would support us,” Chao said.
Photo: Chang Ling-chu, Taipei Times
As Corvallis Micro Technology is located off Interstate No. 5 (I-5), Lin hoped the strategic location of the mural would help by informing Americans driving past that Taiwan is an independent country, Chao said.
Despite Chao’s interest in the project, he found it difficult to persuade other Taiwanese painters to take part in the endeavor.
It was at that point that Chao turned to a relative, Lucy Yueh-chien Lu (盧月鉛), who emigrated to Canada more than a decade ago. She agreed to take part and the two of them started preparations to paint the mural.
However, the subject matter of the work meant that painters looking to develop a career in China were “unable” to take part, Lu said.
In addition, because the mural was being painted on the outside of a building, which meant that the artists had to use mechanical lifts to reach higher levels, elderly artists were excluded from the project, she said.
“Currently Chao and I are the only artists working on the project,” Lu said, adding that they plan to finish the mural at the end of next month, before the autumn rainy season sets in. They are also hoping to elicit the aid of locals in the coloring of the work.
The mural is to be divided into two parts, one featuring Taipei 101, the Divine Tree (神木) on Ali-shan (阿里山), Jade Mountain and Taiwan’s indigenous flora and fauna.
Tibetan independence will be the subject of the other part of the mural.
Tibet is an issue of interest to many Westerners and by focusing on Tibetan independence the mural is more likely to attract the attention of US citizens and thereby better promote Taiwanese independence, Lu said.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution at the Cannes Critics’ Week on Wednesday. The award, which includes a 20,000 euro (US$22,656) prize, is intended to support the French release of a first or second feature film by a new director. According to Critics’ Week, the prize would go to the film’s French distributor, Le Pacte. "A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a