President highlights democracy on Taiwan Culture Day

Taipei, Oct. 17 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Thursday stressed the importance of solidarity to defend Taiwan's democracy at a Chinese calligraphy exhibition in Yilan County to celebrate Taiwan Culture Day.

The exhibition, themed "Calligraphy Exhibition to Trace Taiwan's Democracy," invited 38 calligraphers to write collections of poetry and songs composed by Taiwan's past anti-authoritarian fighters for democracy, according to the organizer, Youngsun Culture & Education Foundation, established by former Premier You Shyi-kun (游錫堃).

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Lai lauded the county for nurturing Taiwan's democracy as well as its rich culture.

He said that the calligraphy works and their content demonstrate how past activists led Taiwan from an authoritarian regime to the democratic nation it is today.

Lai said a dedication to democracy has become Taiwan's culture. After decades of sacrifice and devotion, democracy and human rights have become an integral part of Taiwanese' people's daily lives, common but indispensable.

It is especially important to work in solidarity when facing foreign threats, he said.

Lai quoted Chiang Wei-shui's (蔣渭水) motto "[we] compatriots must unite, we are strong when united" (同胞須團結, 團結真有力) to emphasize his point.

Chiang was among the Taiwanese cultural activists who established the Taiwanese Cultural Association in 1921 on the same day 103 years ago, when Taiwan was still under Japanese colonial rule. That date was chosen by the government as Taiwan Culture Day in 2001 but given renewed focus by the Ministry of Culture in 2017.

Chiang's hometown is in Yilan County.

The exhibition is being held in the former residence of Kuo Yu-shin (郭雨新) from Thursday to Feb. 28, 2025.

Kuo is regarded as a pioneer of Taiwan's "Tangwai movement," a political movement that challenged the authoritarian Kuomintang (KMT) regime during the later martial-law period (1949-1987).

Elsewhere in Pingtung County, the county government has brought together 16 local cultural exhibition halls for a joint online exhibition of Indigenous and Chinese cultural artifacts, according to a news release from the the local government on Thursday.

The county government is seeking to showcase a deeper understanding of local cultures and stories to visitors, it said.