A proposal by National Taiwan University’s (NTU) student council to name a plaza on campus after late NTU alumnus and democracy activist Chen Wen-chen (陳文成) can now be considered, after a school affairs meeting yesterday unanimously approved a principle on naming public spaces within the university.
The plaza is between the university’s Graduate Institute of Library and Information Science and the first student activity center.
Chen, who graduated from the university’s department of mathematics, studied in the US and became an assistant professor in Carnegie Mellon University’s department of statistics.
A supporter of Taiwan’s democracy movement, he was found dead on an NTU lawn on July 2, 1981, after he was questioned by the then-Taiwan Garrison Command one day after returning to the nation to visit his family.
At the time, the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government said Chen had committed suicide. However, an autopsy performed by a US forensics expert disputed this conclusion. The cause of Chen’s death remains unknown, though many allege that his death was a consequence of political oppression.
In June this year, NTU student council leader Lee Hsin-wen (李心文) said at a school affairs meeting that “Chen was politically oppressed” and that his body being found on campus was a tragedy of an autocratic era, adding that the transition to democracy called for a reflection on the past.
The naming of the plaza after “the man who fought for Taiwan’s democracy and was sacrificed by political oppression” would help the university’s students and faculty understand NTU history, as well as strengthen democracy and the implementation of transitional justice, Lee said.
Lee’s proposal was supported by most students and faculty members, but NTU Dean Yang Pan-chih (楊泮池) said in June that the naming of public spaces should have more guideline rules to avoid school affair councils being burdened with all naming issues.
The principle passed yesterday says that the naming of all open spaces should take into consideration aspects such as historical commemoration; names from nature, humanities or a particular landscape; the characteristics of the location; and the spirit behind the location’s original design.
In terms of the principle, no plaque would be erected bearing the name of a location, but if specific historical significance of a location must be made known to visitors by putting up a plaque, it must not stand out too much from the surrounding scenery.
Yang said the naming of the plaza should follow the principle guidelines.
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
RSS