National Taiwan University’s (NTU) university affairs committee yesterday passed a proposal to name a campus plaza in honor of NTU Mathematics Department graduate Chen Wen-chen (陳文成), a well-known victim of the nation’s past authoritarian regime in a move lauded as a step toward transitional justice. The plaza is also to include a monument for Chen.
Born in 1950, Chen went to the US for his doctorate after leaving NTU and worked as an assistant professor in Carnegie Mellon University’s department of statistics.
Like many of the young people who went abroad to study at the time, Chen closely followed political developments in Taiwan and participated in US-based Taiwanese student associations and human rights groups.
Photocopied by Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
He returned to Taiwan for a visit in 1981.
A supporter of Taiwan’s democratic movement who had made donations to the pro-democracy Formosa Magazine, Chen was found dead next to the NTU graduate library on July 3, 1981.
He had been taken by the Taiwan Garrison Command for questioning the previous day.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
His death remains unsolved.
At the NTU committee meeting yesterday, the proposal was discussed and put to a vote.
With 75 votes in favor and 22 against, the motion passed.
The plaza next to where Chen’s body was found is to be named “Chen Wen-chen Incident Memorial Plaza.” A monument inscribed with Chen’s story is to be built as well.
NTU president Yang Pan-chyr (楊泮池) said the move is a milestone in the nation’s democratic development.
NTU Graduate Students Association president Sherry Chou (周芷萱) called it the university’s first step to transitional justice, and said that there is a wide consensus that the monument should be erected as soon as possible.
An event held every year on July 3 in memorial of Chen will continue to take place to inspire people to remember the nation’s history, she added.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS