The National Human Rights Commission yesterday honored the “mother of Taiwanese modern dance,” Tsai Jui-yueh (蔡瑞月), who was imprisoned by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime during the White Terror era.
The commemoration, held at the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Research Institute in Taipei, comes ahead of the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Wednesday next week.
At the event, Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊), the commission’s chairwoman, talked about Tsai and her husband, Lei Shih-yu (雷石榆), in recalling Taiwan’s democratic transition, during which many people were persecuted and killed.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“We want people to remember the history of the struggle for freedom, so that we can have the will to defend and love our freedom and democracy, which came about only through hard-fought efforts,” Chen said.
A documentary on Tsai’s life was shown at the commemoration, with many in attendance wearing purple ribbons to raise awareness about violence against women.
Tsai’s story has come to represent the victims of the White Terror era, when in 1949 the KMT arrested Lei, an Indonesian-born poet, on suspicion of being a communist agent and deported him to China, separating him from Tsai and their son for more than 40 years, Chen said.
Tsai was also arrested, presumably for maintaining contact with Lei, and incarcerated in Taipei and later for three years on Green Island, Chen said.
Tsai was released in 1953 and founded a dance studio in Taipei, but she and her school were under constant surveillance by the authorities, who disrupted her work and performances, and prevented her from leaving Taiwan.
“Tsai and Lei’s love story lasted through tragic circumstances for many decades, and it has moved many people. It happened because of state violence against a woman,” Chen said.
“We must pursue human rights at all times. It is not possible to reach into every corner to hear every cry for help and sad story. It is up to everyone to be vigilant and strive to listen for the voices of society’s underprivileged, and find ways to help them,” she added.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS