National Palace Museum

Political Controversy About Breaking of National Palace Museum Artifacts Follows Along Familiar Lines

A political controversy late last month centered around the breaking of three priceless artifacts displayed at the National Palace Museum. Some estimates place the value of the three artifacts at 77 million USD, though they have never been displayed, seeing as the National Palace Museum rotates its collection and does not display all of its artifacts at once...

Academics Call for Academia Sinica Name Change

Proposals for Academia Sinica to change its name have been floated several times in the past. For example, the idea came up in March 2020 in the Taiwanese legislature after the Chinese government sought to take credit for a virus reagent developed by Academia Sinica scientists to test for COVID-19. Since then, pan-Green lawmakers have continued calls for a name change on several occasions. The issue was floated again recently, however, after the circulation of a Chinese-language petition by two dozen Academia Sinica researchers...

KMT Criticized After Claim that the National Palace Museum Collection is a Party Asset

A wave of backlash has ensued against the KMT after comments by a party representative at the party’s recent national congress arguing that the contents of the National Palace Museum’s collection belong to the party and can be considered a party asset. In particular, the comments are seen as reflective of the authoritarian views of the KMT, in that despite Taiwan’s democratization, some members of the party still view the KMT as synonymous with the state...