YUAN GOANG-MING’S “THE 561ST HOUR OF OCCUPATION”

In 2014, Taiwan’s then-ruling Kuomintang Party attempted to push through a Cross-Strait Services Trade Agreement that would have increased trade relations with China, potentially leaving the island nation vulnerable to political pressure from Beijing. Taiwan’s parliament rushed to vote the agreement through without its first going through the process of review proposed by the opposing Democratic Progressive Party. This spurred a massive public protest, which culminated in university students occupying the legislative palace for nearly a month: 585 hours in total. The action was successful, in that it forced the government to table the agreement, and gave rise to further significant changes that have helped preserve Taiwan’s independence, sovereignty, and open political system in the intervening years. As its title suggests, Yuan Goang-Ming’s work was filmed during The 561st Hour of Occupation. The work pays homage to the bravery of the students, whose action helped retain Taiwan’s status as the last remaining beacon for democracy in the Chinese-speaking world. 

This video, an excerpt from which appears here, was among the works presented by Yuan for his exhibition “Everyday War” at the Taiwan pavilion of the 2024 Venice Biennale. 

-Travis Jeppesen