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.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS