Paiwan artist Sakuliu Pavavaljung yesterday denied that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl, following a description of an assault posted online last week that led to speculation that he had been involved in such an incident and local prosecutors launching an investigation.
Pavavaljung, who received a National Award for Art in 2017, said that the incident depicted in the Facebook post never happened.
“I did not do what the online story alleges,” 61-year-old Pavavaljung said. “I will clear things up when I talk to judicial authorities about the matter.”
On Thursday last week, artist Kuo Yu-ping (郭俞平) posted online a piece titled “Story of a Small Town,” in which he describes how a Paiwan artist, who Kuo calls Kulusa, sexually assaulted a 19-year-old female fan earlier this year.
Since the post, numerous readers have said that the artist is Pavavaljung.
Yu Yue-lien (余悅廉), an engineer, wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday that Pavavaljung attempted to sexually assault her in the summer of 2006, when she attended an exhibition of his work.
Following the allegations, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, which was set to feature the veteran artist at the Taiwan Pavilion for next year’s Venice Biennale and Kassel Documenta Fifteen in Germany, said on Monday that work on the curation was halted “until matters are clarified.”
The National Culture and Arts Foundation, which granted Pavavaljung a National Culture and Arts Award in 2018, said it is halting sponsorship of the artist.
Prosecutors in Pingtung have launched a probe into the matter.
Pavavaljung said that in the wake of Kuo’s post, people in the arts community, as well as friends and family, have expressed concern.
“I am innocent,” Pavavaljung said. “I will continue my preparatory work for upcoming exhibitions.”
He declined to comment on moves by Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the National Culture and Arts Foundation to halt his sponsorship.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS