The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is to mark the 30th anniversary of the lifting of martial law with a series of events from Saturday.
“In today’s Taiwan, people can take to the streets for social issues, but that was forbidden in the Martial Law era. In today’s Taiwan, people can pen articles criticizing the government, but it was forbidden in the Martial Law era,” President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at a meeting of the party’s Central Standing Committee in Taipei.
“Today, we encourage the use of native tongues and legislate for the promotion of ethnic languages, but in the Martial Law era, the so-called dialects were ignored and suppressed,” Tsai said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Songs that are popular today might have been banned in the past for unlikely reasons, such as late Hoklo singer Kuo Chin-fa’s (郭金發) song about post-war poverty in 1949, which was banned because of its grim lyrics, she said.
“These stories remind us that the freedom and democracy Taiwan enjoys today is not a matter of course. Freedom is not a given and democracy is not a gift from rulers. Everything we have today was won by the struggles of Taiwanese,” the president said.
To commemorate the anniversary is to review the mistakes made in the nation, and safeguard hard-earned freedom and democracy, she said.
The DPP is to hold a music festival, an exhibition and a fair at the Taichung Cultural and Creative Industries Park from Saturday to Monday to mark the 30th anniversary of the lifting of martial law on July 15, 1987.
The music festival is to feature independent artists and bands performing songs banned or repressed during the Martial Law era.
The exhibition is to display items banned during the period, such as books, recordings and magazines, as well as visual and audio archives documenting democracy movements and campaigners.
Veteran singer and senior DPP official Yu Tian (余天) said that in the 1970s, the government banned several of his songs and he was banned from the stage for a year for making a sexually explicit joke on stage.
One of his songs was banned because of the lyrics: “I was hurt walking on a thorny road,” that was misinterpreted as a political metaphor, but actually referred to life’s struggles, Yu said.
The now-defunct Government Information Office censored television and radio programs and screened live performances, and the office-controlled Confederation of Entertainment Unions banned him from the stage for one year, he said.
“Songs were banned for various reasons. We did not have a clear understanding of the censorship standards. Whatever was determined inappropriate or unconventional would be banned,” he said.
Tsai also reiterated calls for Beijing to allow Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) to receive medical treatment overseas in the country of his choice.
“The news of his [Liu Xiaobo’s] cancer and faltering health has not only concerned us, but the whole world,” the president said.
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
RSS