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.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book