Open letter to Dame Minouche Shafik, Director, the London School of Economics and Political Science
Dear Madam Director,
As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan, I am writing to protest LSE's decision to alter “The World Turned Upside Down” sculpture so that Taiwan will be depicted as part of China.
The truth is that Taiwan is a sovereign democratic country, not part of any other. Our president and parliament are democratically elected. We also have an independent military, monetary system, and foreign ministry. Taiwan has been praised as a democratic success story and a beacon of hope for the people of China, who are still living under autocratic and ruthless communist rule.
LSE has inspired many young Taiwanese men and women in the pursuit of academic excellence. One of them is our current president, Dr. Tsai Ing-wen, who has always been proud of her LSE experience. If the sculpture is changed as planned, it will lead young men and women everywhere to believe that LSE bows to the pressure and bullying of Beijing.
Madam Director, your decision should not be about who has more power or which country has more people. Rather, as the head of an academic institution, your decision should be about what is true and what is right. And the truth is that Taiwan is a proud democracy, not part of autocratic China, and Taiwan's people have over and over again revealed their desire to maintain this status.
The British government refers to Taiwan, and conducts relations with Taiwan, as “Taiwan,” period. On behalf of Taiwan, I thus urge you and your institution not to change the depiction of Taiwan on the sculpture.
Sincerely yours,
Joseph Wu
