Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday said they would propose making April 7 Freedom of Speech Day in memory of the late Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), a democracy advocate who committed suicide 23 years ago.
“The DPP Legislative Caucus unanimously supports the proposal to make April 7 a national Freedom of Speech Day to honor Deng’s fight for basic human rights and we call for non-partisan support for the proposal,” DPP Legislator Pan Men-an (潘孟安) said at a press conference held at Deng Nan-jung Memorial Museum.
The museum is located in the apartment in downtown Taipei where Deng set himself ablaze 23 years ago.
On April 7, 1989, Deng, then-publisher of the Freedom Era Weekly magazine, committed suicide by self-immolation at the age of 43, when police tried to arrest him for printing a proposal for a constitution for the Republic of Taiwan in the magazine. Deng had locked himself inside the office for 71 days before setting himself ablaze.
Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), Deng’s widow who went into politics after Deng’s death and served as vice premier under the former DPP administration, said yesterday that her husband’s death had left a legacy to Taiwanese, even though his death had caused great pain to the family.
“When he told me about his plan to set an example for Taiwanese’s endless fight for freedom of speech with his death, I told him that Taiwanese are forgetful and no one would remember him, but history proves that he was right because his legacy lives on,” Yeh said.
The DPP caucus has gathered 42 signatures from DPP and Taiwan Solidarity Union lawmakers for the proposal, DPP legislator Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said.
The DPP has also demanded that the government submit an annual report on press freedom.
The DPP caucus of the Taipei City Council also proposed renaming the lane where the museum is located as “Freedom Lane.”
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
RSS