A permanent exhibition on Taiwan’s decades-long fight for speech freedoms opened on Thursday at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, where participants also remembered late democracy activist Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), who committed suicide 33 years ago.
The exhibition, titled Taiwan’s Long Walk to Freedom of Speech, chronicles the country’s social movements and key events in support of speech freedoms, Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) said at the opening ceremony.
From 1945 until 1992, when a law that made dissent illegal was amended, numerous people across many generations sacrificed personal freedoms, and even their lives, to fight for free speech and democracy under the authoritarian government, he said.
Photo: CNA
The large collection of photographs, paintings, interview clips and documents provide comprehensive and rigorous accounts of their struggles, he said.
Taiwan was under martial law from 1949 to 1987, during which freedom of speech, association and publication were heavily suppressed.
Even after martial law was lifted, freedom of speech continued to be stifled until Article 100 of the Criminal Code, which allowed the imprisonment of people deemed to be guilty of anti-state activities, was amended in 1992.
The exhibition is a commemorative event for Freedom of Speech Day, which has been observed in Taiwan every April 7 since 2016 to remember Deng.
Deng was the publisher of the political magazine Freedom Era Weekly until he committed suicide at his office on April 7, 1989, while facing charges of sedition. He self-immolated and set fire to his office instead of appearing in court.
To illustrate Deng’s dedication to promoting freedom of speech, the exhibition also showcases a life-size replica of his office, the Ministry of Culture said.
The ministry chose the exhibition location to show its continued effort to transform the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall into a venue that champions democratic values and civil liberties, it said.
The exhibition is being held at the hall decades after Taiwanese began mobilizing at the location to call for freedom and democracy, said Chen Chu (陳菊), president of the Control Yuan and head of the National Human Rights Commission.
It is a “long walk” that Taiwan has taken to reach its current state, Chen said, adding that the exhibition encourages visitors to reflect on the importance of democracy and freedom.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
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
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
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS