Chinese Ambassador to South Korea Dai Bing (戴兵) yesterday expressed Beijing’s disapproval of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation agreeing to allow Taiwan’s exhibitors to use the name “Taiwan” at the 16th Gwangju Biennale, and ordered Chinese artists to pull out of the exhibition, South Korean media reported today.
Dai in a meeting with Gwangju Mayor Min Hyung-baen at Gwangju City Hall expressed his “regret and concern” over the decision to accept Taiwan’s request for the name change, Munhwa Broadcasting Corp (MBC) said.
He subsequently ordered Chinese artists and exhibitors who had been preparing works for a special exhibition at the Gwangju Museum of Art’s Ha Jung-woon branch to begin withdrawing today, it said.
Photo: CNA
MBC reported that the exhibitors had begun withdrawing at the request of the Chinese Embassy.
The Ministry of Culture had urged the foundation to restore the name of Taiwan’s participating exhibition from “NTMoFA,” the acronym for the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, to “Taiwan Pavilion” at the exhibition, which is set to begin on Sept. 5.
On Tuesday, Taiwan was granted permission to use its preferred name at the exhibition venue and in official documents and promotional materials, after it said it would withdraw from the exhibition if not, the broadcaster reported.
Dai met with Min yesterday alongside Chinese Consul General in Gwangju Gu Jingqi (顧景奇) in what was originally planned as a courtesy visit to mark Min’s inauguration, MBC said.
Min said that political considerations should not affect the arts, it said.
The Chinese Embassy yesterday issued a news release on the meeting, but did not mention the Gwangju Biennale, only that the two sides exchanged views on “issues of common concern.”
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