Shih Ju Fu

My project is a double-sided daily tear-off calendar designed to address the political hostility between China and Taiwan and showcase the shared cultural roots of these two places. The relationship between China and Taiwan has always been very complex and controversial. While both sides are mainly Han Chinese, the Chinese Civil War created a division in 1949, and the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan while the Communist Party remained in mainland China. Growing up Chinese and Taiwanese, many times embracing my Taiwanese identity meant dropping my Chinese one, and vice versa. These two places are the same and different, culturally similar, political opposites. How do I make peace with two opposing political cultures of my own? The calendar is separated into two sides, where one side represents China and the other side represents Taiwan. Upon using the calendar, one will have to choose a side to begin and end the calendar year with. Each page features a political event that has happened on the day—policy changes, protests, or anything that could have altered either side's position today.