Students and faculty at the Taipei National University of the Arts on Tuesday urged visitors to the Yoshitomo Nara exhibition on its campus to maintain decorum, following reports of illegal parking, theft of the university’s turtles and trespassing into classrooms.
The exhibition, which opened at the university on March 12 and is to run through June 20, has drawn a mixed crowd.
Since the opening, some visitors have absconded with turtles from the university’s ecological pool, while others picked berries from the university’s mulberry trees, faculty and students said.
Other students said they saw visiting parents using public works of art as playground equipment, while many visitors with vehicles parked in no-parking zones.
Some visitors have barged into parts of the university not open to the public to use drinking fountains or restrooms in teaching areas, the students said.
Over the past month, faculty and students have been stopped by visitors asking for directions, while some students have had their pictures taken by visitors, the school said.
While some parts of the university have been open to the public, certain areas — such was classrooms — are off-limits to protect students and faculty, the university said, adding that it has placed signs asking visitors to refrain from entering the areas.
The university has not put up signs near the works of art placed throughout the campus, as that would affect the general aesthetics of the campus, it said, adding that it hopes visitors would only look at the works and not touch them.
The university reserves the right to take individuals to court over charges of destruction of property should any work of art or plants be damaged, the university said.
Temporary parking zones are made available during weekends and holidays, it said.
The university’s student council president Lu Wei-cheng (盧韋丞) said the university is trying to identify the people who stole the turtles.
Lu also called on people to give public art installations on campus a wide berth when taking pictures, adding that while art is meant to be admired, it should be done so with respect.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
RSS