National Taiwan University of Arts (NTUA) yesterday said that students can apply to keep the campus’ ‘Lennon wall,’ where notes and flyers are posted in support of Hong Kong’s democratic movement.
The statement came in response to students’ accusation that the university had undermined their freedom of speech by ordering the wall’s removal.
The controversy broke out after the NTUA student association president on Sunday wrote on Facebook that the school had demanded that the wall be torn down, drawing students’ criticism.
Photo courtesy of NTUA
The Hong Kong Outlanders, a group of Hong Kongers living in Taiwan, backed the students on Facebook, saying that the wall’s removal would reduce the space where students could express their opinions.
As part of campus renovation efforts, the wall was last year relocated from near the university’s “Wall of Democracy” bulletin board to its existing location, the university statement said.
A Lennon Wall Committee, made up of autonomous student groups, in October last year decided to rent the location until the end of the semester, the statement said, adding that the university early last month reminded the committee of the deadline.
The university said that it was only following protocol.
“The students are welcome to renew the application and continue using the current spot, or relocate the wall to a place near the new Wall of Democracy after it is completed,” the statement said.
The university said that it passed regulations last year that banned posts around campus with content related to religion, politics and elections, or with intimidating or insulting language.
The regulations, established to help the university remain a neutral academic institution, were set up with student representatives making up more than half of the decisionmakers, it said.
In any case, the regulations do not apply to the ‘Lennon wall,’ which is a special case, it added.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS