Legislator Mark Ho (何志偉) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday led legislators from across party lines in forming the Taiwan Arts and Culture Promotion Circle in a bid to promote the local arts and culture scene.
The group’s constitution says its purpose is to assist in the development of local arts and culture, while promoting artistic and cultural literacy; increase the importance that officials and members of the public give to art education and improve its quality; and invigorate the nation’s art market, ensuring sustainable development.
Art, in its essence, is an expression of the freedom of speech, Ho said at a founding meeting at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Photo courtesy of Mark Ho’s office
Ho added that he hopes the nation would attract a greater share of the global art auction market.
This year, the Ministry of Culture is expected to push for amendments to the Act on Encouraging and Rewarding Cultural and Art Enterprises (文化藝術獎助條例), which would allow auctioned works of art to be taxed separately, no longer including income from auctioned works as artists’ personal income, he said.
In addition to pushing the passage of the amendments, he urged the ministry to look at examples of online auctions set up by institutions and artists in other nations.
Ho encouraged people to attend the fifth edition of Art Expo Taiwan, to be held at the Taipei World Trade Center from Sept. 10 to Sept. 13.
More than 25 lawmakers joined the circle, including New Power Party Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭); DPP legislators Yu Tien (余天) and Wu Chi-ming (吳琪銘); and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Guei-min (李貴敏).
Ho is circle chair, while DPP legislators Fan Yun (范雲), Lin Chu-yin (林楚茵), Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) and Hung Sun-han (洪申翰), who also attended the meeting, are vice chairpersons.
Citing her experience as a university professor for more than 10 years, Fan said she believes that the younger generation is more capable in art and culture and in technology than her generation.
Twenty years ago, Taiwan had a booming art auction market, but some “incorrect” policy choices led auction houses to move to Hong Kong and Shanghai, Lin said.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the national security legislation imposed on Hong Kong are presenting Taiwan with new opportunities, she said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
RSS