The 16th Gwangju Biennale in South Korea is scheduled to be held from September 5 to November 15. The day before the Biennale opened, China announced a boycott and withdrew the exhibition.
Ruan Yuelai, curator of the China Pavilion, said at a press conference on Thursday (September 3): "Because the organizers of the Biennale used incorrect names for the participation of Taiwan, China, and allowed political factors to interfere with art, the Chinese curatorial team believes this is unacceptable and has unanimously decided to withdraw from the exhibition in strong protest."
The spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in South Korea also issued a statement on the same day, saying that the organizer of the Gwangju Biennale "stubbornly persists in wrong practices", seriously violates the one-China principle and "directly damages the political foundation of China-South Korea relations." China firmly opposes this and will never accept it.
The controversy over the name of Taiwan's participation in this year's biennale has emerged months ago. According to a statement from Taiwan's Ministry of Culture, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts will participate in the exhibition this year under the name "Taiwan Pavilion". After review, the contract was signed, and all subsequent preparations will be conducted under the name "Taiwan Pavilion". However, in June, without prior notice, the organizers suddenly changed the name of the Taiwan Pavilion to the English abbreviation of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts "NTMoFA".
The National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts has made representations and protests to the organizers many times, and the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan has also solemnly expressed Taiwan’s position to the Gwangju City Government and the organizers through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Taiwan Representative Office in South Korea, but they have received no response.
In mid-August, 10 Taiwanese curators and participating artists issued a statement, condemning the organizers for "forcibly erasing Taiwan from the posters," which was tantamount to political censorship of art exhibitions. The Taiwan Visual Arts Association also criticized the organizers' move as a "betrayal of the spirit of democracy."
Under the pressure of public opinion, on August 25, the organizers of the Biennale announced that they had "reached an agreement" on the use of the name and resumed using the name "Taiwan Pavilion"; they also stated that Taiwan had stated that if it was unable to participate in the exhibition under the name "Taiwan Pavilion", it would withdraw from this Biennale. Therefore, the organizers decided to restore the original name in official documents and promotional materials.
This move aroused dissatisfaction and protests from China, which then officially announced its withdrawal from the Biennale this week.
The Gwangju Biennale was founded in 1994 and is one of the most influential international contemporary art exhibitions in Asia. The famous "Gwangju Incident" in Korean history occurred here in 1980, which became a spiritual symbol of resistance to authoritarianism and struggle for democracy. This year's 16th exhibition opened on Saturday and will run until mid-November, with the theme "You Have to Change Your Life."
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that China hopes that the South Korean government will abide by its political commitment to the "One China" principle with practical actions. On the same day, a spokesman for the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the South Korean government's policy towards Taiwan has not changed, and pointed out that the relevant disputes involve non-governmental entities.
