British sound artist Simon Whetham last week was asked to leave Taiwan by the National Immigration Agency due to a visa issue, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) said yesterday, urging authorities to be more flexible in regulations regarding artistic activities.
Whetham arrived in the nation on June 28 on a visa waiver program for UK citizens and planned to stay for 90 days, participating in artistic projects, artist Yeh Yu-jun (葉育君) — a friend of Whetham, who she was helping — said at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Yeh said she was told late last month that someone had reported to the agency that Whetham was illegally employed.
Photo: Taipei Times
He was asked to explain his situation to the agency on July 24.
“He was not invited by us. He came here to do his own projects,” Yeh said, adding that she had provided him with food and accommodation at her art space in Taipei, Instant 42, as part of an “art exchange.”
Whetham, now traveling in Japan, issued a statement through Yeh, saying he had seen many artists from other countries share their work and experience in Taiwan “for no payment, but to help and support the local community.”
However, “because someone was very unkind and reported me as working illegally without a permit, I have had to leave Taiwan and may not return for some time,” Whetham said, adding that he was shocked that he and his friends were sanctioned, despite fully cooperating with the agency.
“Agencies should pay more attention to more serious violations — such as those who apply for a tourist visa yet carry out financial scams — and be more flexible about artistic interactions,” Chen said.
The agency said that foreign visitors cannot engage in activities or employment other than what is specified on their visa or they face being required to leave the nation.
“While he was asked to leave the nation within 10 days, he departed the day after giving his account,” National Immigration Agency senior specialist Su Hui-wen (蘇慧雯) said.
Yeh, regarded as his “employer,” breached Article 46 of the Employment Service Act (就業服務法) and faces a fine of NT$150,000 to NT$750,000, it said.
“Whetham worked in exchange for accommodation, so he should have applied for a work permit,” said Su Yu-kuo (蘇裕國), a senior specialist in the Ministry of Labor’s Workforce Development Agency
“We respect the agency’s regulations regarding whether foreign artists can work in Taiwan on a tourist visa,” said Liu Mei-chi (劉美芝), a section chief at the Ministry of Culture’s Department of Cultural and Creative Development, adding that the two agencies would discuss further the range of art and culture-related jobs that should be defined as work.
“The Ministry of Culture should demonstrate its [administrative] position by insisting on what is right or calling for changes,” Association of the Visual Arts in Taiwan chairman Chen Wen-hsiang (陳文祥) said. “Otherwise, the incident might affect other foreign artists’ willingness to visit Taiwan.”
Whetham faces a ban from entering the nation for one to three years, with the period to be determined by the immigration agency.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese