The Cultural Division of the Taipei Representative Office in Germany held a bilingual Chinese/German seminar "Considerations on Development/The Way Forward: Taiwan's Bumpy Road to Democracy" ("Betrachtungen einer Entwicklung/Der Weg nach vorn: Taiwan's holpriger Weg zur Demokratie") at the Office's Cultural Hall on Nov. 9.
Photographer Sung Lung-chuan (宋隆泉) shared the wonderful stories behind his photos currently on display at the Stasi Museum, which reflect Taiwan's struggles on its way to democracy. Through this, the Office aimed to arouse the attention of the German community about how Taiwan's international participation is being threatened and suppressed by China.
Sung has been active since the 1980s and once worked as a photographer for magazines Kavalan Weekly, The Movement, and Freedom Era Weekly, creating a thorough photographic record of Taiwan's early social movements. The "Scenery of Freedom in Taiwan" photo exhibition, currently running at the Stasi Museum in Berlin, features 16 shots of important historical scenes from Taiwan's struggle for democracy and freedom by Sung. The exhibition is also the first cooperation between Taiwan and Germany since the signing of the Letter Of Intent for Joint Cooperation on Transitional Justice in 2019.
The exhibition opened on Nov. 5, drawing the attention of many Germans interested in Taiwan's journey to democracy. The event was opened by Representative to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉), with Deputy Curator of the Stasi Museum Alexandra Titze present to give a speech. Others present included the German-Taiwanese Society (Deutsch-Taiwanische Gesellschaft) and German media companies ZDF, DPA, and Transparency International, who paid tribute to Sung and his invaluable contributions to Taiwan's history through his records.
On Nov. 9, the seminar "Considerations on Development/The Way Forward: Taiwan's Bumpy Road to Democracy" was held in Chinese and German. Photographer Sung Lung-chuan was invited to talk with Representative Shieh Jhy-wey about his motivations for shooting journalistic photography, the aesthetics of documenting social movements, and Taiwan’s important journey toward democracy. It is hoped that more people will be inspired to reflect on democracy in both Taiwan and Germany.