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Taiwan Strips Sakuliu Pavavaljung of National Arts Award After Supreme Court Upholds Conviction

The move signals the first use of new rules introduced in 2023 that allow the state to withdraw arts honors after a criminal conviction.

Overview

  • Sakuliu Pavavaljung’s 2018 National Award for Arts was revoked by Taiwan’s National Culture and Arts Foundation, which also ordered him to repay the NT$1 million prize and removed his name from the award website.
  • Taiwan’s Supreme Court on April 1 upheld his four-and-a-half-year prison sentence for forcible sexual intercourse.
  • The Pingtung District Court first convicted him in January 2025, saying he violated the complainant’s sexual autonomy and caused severe psychological harm.
  • The case followed late-2021 social media posts by former students that described assaults and prompted a police investigation in Pingtung, which he denied at the time.
  • The revocation is reported as the first test of MeToo-era disqualification rules adopted in 2023, a step that could shape how Taiwan handles future honors tied to misconduct findings.