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.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS