Despite UNESCO's decision not to publish Taiwanese student Yang Chih-yuan's (
"We feel that Yang had courage in this matter, and we want to let the world know what peace is. Yang worked hard, but his painting will not be published by the United Nations because of pressure from China. We respect what Yang accomplished," said Su Dai-hsiung (蘇達雄), chief of the philatelic section of Chunghwa Post.
Yang, 15, who attends Hsinpu Junior High School, was one of six teenagers who won a recent worldwide contest by UNESCO to mark International Peace Day. While Yang's painting had been selected to be circulated as a commemorative postage stamp, UNESCO disqualified Yang following protests from China. Yang's painting had featured flags from around the world, one of which was Taiwan's flag.
Lions Club International, which had sponsored the poster-designing contest and invited young people from around the world to participate, currently holds the copyright to Yang's drawing. While Chunghwa Postal intends to publish Yang's work, authorization from Lions Club International has yet to be given.
Chen Cheng-te (陳正德), secretary general of the Lions Club's Taiwan chapter, explained that the organization's lawyers were already looking into the legal issues involved in authorizing the local circulation of Yang's work as a stamp, but said that the details had yet to be worked out.
"We conveyed our protest to the UN over this issue already. If the contest is really about peace, should politics be able to intervene?" Chen said. "Large nations should treat smaller nations with compassion and not intimidation. Cross-strait issues should be resolved with wisdom."
Chen admitted however that he could only speak on behalf of the Taiwan chapter, as he was unaware of Lions Club International's stance on the issue.
Su said Chunghwa Post wants to promote an image of peace by publishing Yang's work on commemorative stamps on International Peace Day, Sept. 21.
However, Su explained that Chunghwa Post's handling of the matter would be "low-key," saying that it would avoid mentioning Chinese obstruction of UNESCO's publication of Yang's work.
"We won't make a big deal of what happened for fear of what it could lead to," Su said.
Su added, however, that while the company generally seeks to capitalize on current market trends in its selection of stamp designs, "if there are political needs, we're willing to cooperate." The Presidential Office had earlier suggested that Yang's work be published as a stamp.
"This will be the first student work to be published as a stamp. In the past, we usually chose to use the work of well-known artists," Su said. He said the company had already had plans to encourage artistic endeavor among the nation's youths by publishing selected amateur works as stamps, and that Yang's painting had presented a good opportunity to put this idea into practice.
‘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
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS