The Chen Cheng-po Cultural Foundation yesterday announced that a minor planet has been named after late Taiwanese artist Chen Cheng-po (陳澄波).
The International Astronomical Union in January approved the name designation “Chenchengpo,” recognizing Chen as one of the “most iconic figures in Taiwanese art history.”
However, the foundation only shared the news on Facebook yesterday, the 78th anniversary of the 228 Incident — a mass crackdown in which Chen was among those executed by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
It expressed hope that the naming would encourage more people to learn about the historical event. Some estimates place the total death toll of the crackdown as high as 20,000.
Born in 1895 during the Japanese colonial era, Chen was a prolific artist known for “fusing Chinese and Western techniques” while exploring “avant-garde ideas,” the foundation said.
He was the first Taiwanese artist whose oil paintings were featured in the Japanese Imperial Art Exhibition.
The minor planet was discovered by Lulin Observatory in Nantou County in 2007 and was initially named 2005 EW228.
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