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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

Taiwan Wins Rare Victory Over China in South Korean Art Event Dispute

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Ongoing story
  • Organizers of South Korea’s Gwangju Biennale restored the name “Taiwan Pavilion” after initially changing it to “NTMoFA Pavilion” following pressure from China.
  • China’s consulate in Gwangju condemned the decision, while Chinese curators announced their withdrawal in protest.
  • Taiwan called the attempted renaming political censorship, and South Korean officials said their position on Taiwan had not changed.

Taiwanese artists will take part in South Korea’s Gwangju Biennale under the name “Taiwan Pavilion,” despite protests from China. The decision marks an unusual success for Taiwan, whose participation in international events has faced growing restrictions from Beijing.

political censorship

· Taiwan Ministry of CultureTaiwan’s ministry used the phrase to describe the organizers’ initial decision to rename the pavilion.

China’s Consulate General in Gwangju accused the biennale organizers of using a name that did not reflect Taiwan’s status and said the decision directly harmed the political foundation of relations between Beijing and Seoul. The consulate said it had repeatedly contacted local authorities and event officials. It added that Chinese curators had withdrawn from the biennale as an “energetic protest.”

The dispute began when the Gwangju Biennale Foundation initially accepted “Taiwan Pavilion” for an exhibition by Taiwan’s National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. The organizers later changed the name to “NTMoFA Pavilion.” Taiwan’s Culture Ministry called the change “political censorship” on Aug. 17, demanded the original name’s restoration and warned that it would take necessary action if the organization breached its contract.

has defended systematically the principle of not intervening or censoring the planning, content or expression of exhibitions

· Gwangju Biennale FoundationThe foundation explained its position after restoring the Taiwan Pavilion name.

The foundation initially refused to reverse the decision, but later restored the name after protests from other artists participating in the biennale. The event was established in 1994 to commemorate the 1980 popular uprising against South Korea’s military dictatorship.

simply an artistic expression

· Gwangju cityThe city said the pavilion’s name did not imply recognition of Taiwan as a state.

The foundation said it had consistently defended the principle of not interfering in or censoring exhibition planning, content or expression, and remained committed to artistic autonomy and freedom of expression. Gwangju announced an investigation into operational problems during preparations, while stressing that the pavilion’s name was simply an artistic expression and did not amount to recognition of Taiwan as a state. South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Park Doo-soon likewise said Seoul’s position on Taiwan remained unchanged.

remains unchanged

· Park Doo-soonThe South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman described Seoul’s position on Taiwan.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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