The National Science and Technology Museum yesterday said it would ask the organizers of an exhibition at the museum in Kaohsiung whether it used Chinese facial recognition software in interactive exhibits.
The museum issued the statement after Kaohsiung City Councilor Chang Po-yang (張博洋) of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party on Sunday said that interactive exhibits at the show about the Terracotta Army posed a security risk because they used software developed in China.
The exhibition, which opened on Friday, featured an activity in which visitors could be photographed and have their faces compared with those of the terracotta figures.
Photo copied by Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
The facial recognition software was provided by Chinese companies, Chang said.
Three of the four co-organizers of the exhibition are Chinese, including the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (中國宋慶齡基金會), which is known to have engaged in China’s “united front” activities, he said.
The Ministry of Education neglected to supervise the curation of the exhibition along with other regulatory authorities, he said, demanding that the ministry provide an explanation.
Allowing Chinese software and co-organizers to obtain photographs of visitors’ faces raises major information security concerns, he said.
The museum said in a news release that its contract with the organizer that rented the space, Chinese Hanwei Culture Promotion Association (中華翰維文化推廣協會) specified that “the special exhibition may not use Chinese information and communications technology products, including software, hardware and other services.”
The museum has contacted the association, demanding that it correct any breaches of that contract within a set period, it said, adding that it would end the contract and terminate the exhibition if the association refuses to make corrections.
The hardware used in the two interactive exhibits were made by Taiwanese companies, Chimei and Aplustek, the museum said.
However, the exhibits would be suspended until the organizer proves that the software was not developed by Chinese companies and that the photos would not be saved or uploaded to a server, it said.
The special exhibition was approved in accordance with the “rules for the establishment of special exhibition review committees at the National Science and Technology Museum,” integrating traditional craft with modern technology to restore and replicate cultural antiques, it said.
The exhibition was designed to promote popular science and technology education, it added.
The museum approved the special exhibition to utilize its space and increase income, which has nothing to do with “united front” activities, it said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS