Taiwan's Cultural Funding Slashed Amid Populist Wave, Prompting Museum Forum on Institutional Vulnerability

In Taiwan, a radical Kuomintang faction's legislative takeover led to severe cultural funding cuts under populist 'fiscal discipline,' despite record tax revenues. The Ministry of Culture's budget was reduced by USD 35 million and another USD 108 million frozen, with one pro-China legislator labeling cultural subsidies as 'begging.' On April 26, the New Taipei City Art Museum (NTCAM) held its inaugural forum, where Chinese curator and international committee member Hou Hanru, drawing from his MAXXI directorship and Italy's far-right surge, warned that democratic pushes for visitor numbers risk devolving into populism, simplifying complex issues for political manipulation and market pressures. This forum coincided with the impending closure of IT Park, a cornerstone of Taiwan's experimental art scene since 1988, marking a shift from artist-run autonomy to municipal control and highlighting local exhibition production's vulnerability to power dynamics and nationalist undercurrents. The cuts sparked public outcry among artists reliant on government support, yet few analyses connect this to global cultural institutions facing similar populist threats.