Chinese Artists Boycott Gwangju Biennale Over Taiwan Pavilion Naming
2 sources across 2 countries · Japan · Taiwan
Who reported this
- Kyodo News
- Taipei Times
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
Political lean describes where an outlet sits within the politics of its own country. It is never a position on a single global scale.
Political lean is comparable inside one country and not across them, which is why the bar groups by country first. Publicly funded broadcasters are not marked as state-linked.
The owner of each outlet is listed as a matter of record, not as a judgement about the outlet.
A group of Chinese artists has withdrawn from the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea after organizers agreed to use the name Taiwan Pavilion for an exhibition of Taiwanese works. The festival, which runs through November 15, opened on Saturday despite the controversy. The Gwangju Biennale Foundation initially listed the exhibition as the NTMoFA Pavilion, referring to the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. However, the foundation later restored the name Taiwan Pavilion following protests from Taiwanese artists and the Taiwanese government.
China's Foreign Ministry and Chinese curators criticized the decision, stating that the designation is incompatible with Taiwan's status as part of China. A spokesperson for the ministry urged the South Korean government to uphold the one China principle. While the Chinese curatorial team announced its withdrawal, some of their planned works remained at the site as of Friday afternoon. The Gwangju Biennale Foundation apologized for the confusion and stated that they had initially followed administrative procedures but felt pressure to accept the Taiwanese museum's request.
South Korea's Foreign Ministry stated that the naming decision was made by a non governmental entity and does not reflect the position of the government. Taiwanese artists expressed that the restoration of the name was a victory for art over political censorship. The event occurs amid broader tensions, as China has recently pressured other international entities to exclude Taiwanese representatives.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- The center left framing emphasizes the agency of Taiwanese artists and portrays the restoration of the pavilion name as a victory against political censorship.
- Centre
- The center lean framing focuses on the diplomatic tension between China and South Korea and the geopolitical context of the one China principle.
Sources
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.