Remembering the 228 incident can be a serious matter. A new exhibition in Taipei 228 Memorial Museum, however, chronicles the tragic chapter in the nation's history in a creative and animated way.
Steered by Juan Mei-shu (阮美姝), daughter of a victim of the 228 Incident, and created by artist Jarry Chang (張瑞廷), the "Talking About the 228 Incident Through Comic Strips" exhibition is designed to reach out to younger generations.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"Many young people are reluctant to learn about the history of the 228 Incident because the historical documents and records are so heavy. Through comics, I think it's much easier for [children] to absorb the information," said Juan during the opening ceremony of the exhibition yesterday.
The comic art displays the brutal suppression of civil unrest in 1947, the beating of a woman selling illegal cigarettes in Taipei City, the nation-wide protest that followed, and the large-scale arrests immediately after Feb. 28.
The arrest of Juan's father, Juan Chao-jen (阮朝日), the general manager of the Taiwan Hsin-sheng Pao (台灣新生報), also appeared in the comic. According to Juan, her father left his house with government officials around noon on March 12, 1947, and she never saw him again. Not until 21 years later, during her time in Japan did Juan read about the history of the massacre and learn about her father's death.
Juan researched this part of Taiwan's history extensively after the death of her father. When she first came up with the idea to interpret the tragedy through comics two years ago, Chang offered assistance.
"I've only had a vague idea about the history of the 228 Incident before, in addition to taking this chance to learn more about it, Chang said. "I also hope different ethnic groups will better understand each other after reading this comic."
Juan said that Chang's comic carries a sense of dignity, and this is the reason she provided all necessary 228-related documents to Chang so he could draw the comic.
Attending the opening, Li Bin (李斌), deputy director of Taipei County's Cultural Affairs Bureau said that acknowledging of the 228 Incident was very important.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods