Will the Little Yellow Duck opening go ahead without Florentijn Hofman, who’s furious and refusing to attend? Huang Jing-tai: A victim of circumstances

▲Hofman appeared at the opening ceremonies of the Little Yellow Duck exhibitions in Kaohsiung and Taoyuan, but he is the only one not attending the Keelung opening. (Photo / Reporter Yu Ru)

Reported by Chen Tzu-yin / Keelung

Tonight (20th), the Keelung City Council urgently issued a notice to hold a press conference, as it was originally planned for Hofman to attend tomorrow’s opening ceremony. But around 5 p.m., media received word that “Hofman will not attend the opening on the 21st.” According to insiders, it’s because there were too many tricks involved in this duck display in Keelung, and Hofman was kept in the dark, which made him unhappy, so he decided not to attend the event;Keelung City Council Speaker Huang Jing-tai explained that it was because Hofman saw a report in a Taiwanese media outlet saying “there were products printed with the words ‘exclusive authorization,’” which raised questions and led to the cancellation of his schedule. But the organizers have always respected the original creator. After the press conference, Huang Jing-tai even lowered his head and muttered that it was truly a victim of circumstances.

Huang Jing-tai stated that any enterprise, shop, or individual responding to the Little Duck event is very welcome, and he pointed out that Hofman was originally scheduled to take the 15:50 flight KL0807 on the 20th, but while staff were on their way to pick him up at Taoyuan Airport, they received a text message from Mr. Hofman expressing doubts about the “exclusive authorization” labeling on some products in Keelung, hence his decision not to come.

In response, Wang I-chung, Vice President of the named product company Taiwan Intelligent Card, along with lawyer Chen Ming-hui, stated that there is no exclusive authorization for the Little Duck products this time, nor has any fee been charged to the organizers. Regarding the wording that caused misunderstanding for Mr. Hofman, Taiwan Intelligent Card will correct and clarify as soon as possible, and also express their apologies. The organizers also call on everyone to respond to the Little Yellow Duck event and support Mr. Hofman’s philosophy.


▲In response to Mr. Hofman’s sudden cancellation of his trip to Taiwan, Wang I-chung, Vice President of Taiwan Intelligent Card (left), Keelung City Council Speaker Huang Jing-tai (center), and lawyer Chen Ming-hui (right) urgently held a press conference at the Keelung City Council. (Photo / Reporter Chen Tzu-yin)


▲Media reports that the Little Duck products from Taiwan Intelligent Card had wording indicating “exclusive authorization,” leading to Hofman’s misunderstanding and his sudden cancellation of the Taiwan trip. (Photo / Reporter Chen Tzu-yin)