Opinion Piece: Civilian Cultural Exchange, Minister Fires Wild Shots

Recently, Lin Hsiu-wei, administrative director of Contemporary Legend, expressed dissatisfaction over the Ministry of Culture providing only three economy-class air tickets for a 25-member troupe traveling to Europe for cultural exchange. Emotionally charged, she added, 'Could it be because we don’t sing in Taiwanese?' In response, Minister Lee Yuan told her not to slander the ministry and redirected blame toward budget cuts by the blue and white coalitions in the legislature. This angered lawmakers, who pointed out that the ministry had allocated 700,000 NTD to fund a song titled 'Sexually Assaulted Pets,' questioning why there was no funding for Contemporary Legend’s European cultural exchange. The core issue—whether the fault lies with legislators arbitrarily cutting budgets or with the ministry’s short-sighted planning—remains a case of talking past each other. Instead, let’s examine the budget allocated by the Ministry’s Department of Cultural Exchange for this year, which may reveal underlying problems and blind spots.

The Ministry of Culture has many departments. A quick online search shows the Department of Cultural Exchange’s 2026 (Minguo 115) budget at 588,060 thousand New Taiwan Dollars (NT$588,060,000). While there are many budget categories, government funds can be reallocated. From this, it’s hard to argue that there’s insufficient funding for Contemporary Legend to showcase Taiwan’s cultural soft power abroad. So why were only three economy-class tickets provided? Given Taiwan’s difficult international position, it’s unlikely any legislator would risk public backlash by cutting such funding. Even if legislators do freeze or cut budgets, it’s typically limited to official overseas visits. Thus, Minister Lee’s explanation appears deeply flawed. Put bluntly, domestic arts groups may be held hostage by administrative bodies amid partisan budget battles.

Looking again at the Department of Cultural Exchange’s budget items, the description includes the 'We TAIWAN Osaka Expo Back to Taiwan' project, allocated 100,000 thousand NTD (NT$100 million). However, 2,600 thousand NTD (NT$2.6 million) is designated for 'media policy and promotional activities'—essentially funding media coverage and official publicity stunts. The imbalance in spending between officials and the public is glaring. But how many people know about this event? How many attended? What happened to the artworks after the exhibition? These remain unanswered questions. Moreover, wasteful spending abounds. Have you heard of the 'Taiwan Cultural Gateway' website? A quick search reveals minimal traffic. Officials claim it promotes Taiwanese culture overseas and request 844 thousand NTD (NT$844,000) for it. While the amount isn’t large, is it meaningful or effective?

Furthermore, under Lai Qingde’s 'resist China, protect Taiwan' agenda and cognitive warfare push, the Department of Cultural Exchange states it aims to 'promote Taiwan-themed cultural exchange activities and industrial initiatives in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau, including planning regional exchanges and participating in flagship arts festivals.' This sounds positive. Yet, when mainland artists attempt to visit Taiwan, or when Taiwanese artists and cultural groups seek to exchange, both the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture act like a police headquarters, imposing strict controls. Is this exchange merely a paper exercise to fraudulently obtain funding? Is the Ministry becoming a scam operation for the sake of money? Meanwhile, it conducts political warfare domestically by restricting subsidies for performance groups’ overseas activities. Apparently, in Minister Lee’s mind, 'Taiwanese culture' means following the party line.

*Author is a writer