The National Cultural Association yesterday unveiled six monuments in Taipei to mark the sites of non-governmental organizations (NGO), a publishing house and a bookstore that contributed to the nation's feminist movement.
"Many outstanding women contributed to our history and culture, and we shall not forget them," Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀),secretary-general of the association, told a crowd gathered at a ceremony to unveil a bronze plaque near the site of Pioneer Publishing House in Taipei.
The publishing house, which specializes in feminist books, was founded in 1976 by a group of feminists including Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).
PHOTO: CNA
The idea for setting up such monuments came from a book.
"Last year, we published a book called Women's Footprints that collected 17 stories of the Taiwanese feminist movement through field investigations and interviews," the association's deputy secretary-general Chen Hsiu-hui (陳秀惠) said. "We've decided to set up these monuments so that the readers may physically follow the footprints."
Similar monuments were also unveiled earlier this year in Tamsui and Tainan, and more monuments will be set up in the future, she said.
In addition to the bronze plaque near the site of Pioneer Publishing House, bronze plaques and a bronze statue were also unveiled to mark the sites of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), the Awakening Foundation, the Homemakers' Union and Foundation (HUF), Fembooks and the Women's League of the Republic of China.
"These organizations are all forerunners of the Taiwanese feminist movement," Chen said.
Aside from raising public awareness on gender equality, NGOs such as the YWCA and Women's League focus on involving women in humanitarian services, the HUF aims to increase women's involvement in environmental protection efforts, while Fembooks is the first bookstore in Taiwan that specializes in selling books on women-related topics, Chen said.
Invited to deliver remarks at the occasion, Lu told the audience that she remembered the harsh political and social pressures feminists experienced 30 years ago.
"Out of 15 books we've published, 10 were banned by the government because we exposed a dark side of society," Lu said. Abuse of female workers and prostitution were issues discussed in the banned books, she said.
In addition to political pressure, feminists at the time also faced criticism from a rather conservative and unsupportive public, she said.
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths
Restarting the No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant would take up to 18 months, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said today. Kuo was answering questions during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee, where legislators are considering amendments to the Renewable Energy Development Act (再生能源發展條) amid concerns about the consequences of the Pingtung County reactor’s decommissioning scheduled for May 17. Its decommissioning is to mark the end of Taiwan’s nuclear power production. However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) that would extend the life of existing
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that Somalia reverse its decision prohibiting Taiwanese passport holders from entering or transiting through the country. Somalia said it is following the “one China” principle based on UN Resolution 2758. The ministry said that Somalia is misinterpreting the resolution under China’s instigation, creating a false impression that Taiwan is subordinate to China. The Somali Civil Aviation Authority told airlines on Tuesday last week that starting today, any passengers with passports or travel documents issued from Taiwan or its affiliated institutions would not be allowed to enter or transit through Somalia. The decision comes as Taiwan is boosting
RSS