The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed a proposal to make April 7 “National Freedom of Speech Day” in honor of democracy movement pioneer Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), who committed suicide by self-immolation 20 years ago.
The move came after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at a memorial gathering for Deng on Monday that the party would make the proposal.
“Deng contributed immensely to the liberty that the people of Taiwan enjoy today,” DPP Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) said.
Wong represented the party in making the proposal, and told the Taipei Times that since no one had objected, the proposal now awaits final approval from the Executive Yuan.
On April 7, 1989, Deng, then editor-in-chief of Freedom Era Weekly (自由時代週刊), set himself on fire as heavily armed police attempted to break into his office following his 71 days of self-imposed isolation after he was charged with sedition for the anti-government views expressed in his magazine.
When he set himself on fire, Deng said that “the KMT cannot catch me, they can only catch my corpse.”
Deng was also involved in the erection of the first 228 Incident monument in Chiayi City in 1989, which led to a watershed discussion of the 228 massacre, Wong said, adding that the legislature later passed the 228 victims compensation program.
In response, KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池) said he did not know what Wong meant by saying that the legislature passed her proposal.
“There are certain legal procedures to establish a national memorial day — memorial days cannot be determined by legislative decisions alone,” he said.
“If the DPP feels it is important to establish a Freedom of Speech Day, they would have done so when they were in office. That they didn’t shows that the DPP only wants to bring up the issue to get sympathy,” Lin added.
In related news, Huang Hua (黃華), who initiated the New Country Movement with Deng in 1988, began to stage a seven-day hunger strike yesterday at Liberty Plaza in Taipei in protest of the government’s plan to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement with China.
Huang said he was also doing so to continue Deng’s unfinished mission of establishing a sovereign country.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS