Minister of Culture Li Yuan attended the opening ceremony of the 2026 Taiwan Annual Meeting of the Museum Personnel Training Committee of the International Council of Museums today. (Provided by the Ministry of Culture)
[Reporter Dong Baiting/Reporting from Taipei] Musician Luo Dayou recently publicly criticized Minister of Culture Li Yuan for "not being able to guarantee the evening festival", questioning whether cultural people receive subsidies to make ends meet, and even named many friends in the cultural circle. When Li Yuanjin attended the opening ceremony of the 2026 Taiwan Annual Conference of the International Council of Museums Museum Personnel Training Committee on the 11th, he responded positively to the media when interviewed. He admitted that he did not understand whether the "festival" in Luo Dayou's mouth refers to the party state or what he said bluntly: "Since I was a child, my festival has been Taiwan. No matter what name I use to go international, Taiwan is my hometown."
Talking about the deep connection between the two, Li Yuan recalled the Taiwanese New Wave film period in the 1980s. He revealed that he and Luo Dayou were not familiar with each other at all, and even stayed overnight at the famous director Yang Dechang's house. When he woke up in the morning, he saw Luo Dayou writing "Orphans of Asia" at his desk. "At that time, the yellow face had red mud, and the black eyes had white fear. I am still very moved when I hear it now." Li Yuan lamented that Luo Dayou created an irreplaceable era, but the era will eventually move forward. "You create an era, and you don't have to look back or be nostalgic."
In response to Luo Dayou's criticism of young creators for taking government subsidies to lower their cultural threshold, and even being ridiculed by the outside world as taking "blue bird feed", Li Yuan expressed his injustice for the younger generation. He pointed out that cultural creation is the job that lacks the most labor and health insurance and institutional protection. The writer Yang Shuangzi also relied on receiving the first pot of financial subsidies 8 years ago to quit his delivery job, concentrate on writing, and win international awards. Li Yuan emphasized that literature subsidies often require 500 or 600 people to compete for a dozen places, and the elimination rate exceeds 90%. This is not charity, but fierce professional competition.
Faced with the controversy over provincial citizenship and political review caused by the recent election, Li Yuan admitted that he felt sad. He mentioned that Luo Dayou scolded Wu Nianzhen, Ma Shifang and him in one breath, "Wu Nianzhen is from the province, Ma Shifang is the third generation from another province, and I am a Hakka from another province. Taiwan has been a province for so long, why bother to hype this up again?" Regarding the remarks of his old friend, Li Yuan said that the words that came to his mind were "This game is almost over." He called on everyone to stay quiet, return to their respective posts and vote rationally, and stop using labels to hurt helpless cultural workers.
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