A Japanese photographer and harpists from France and Taiwan are encouraging Taiwanese to reconsider their thoughts on issues related to the death penalty through a photography exhibition and a concert, organizers said yesterday.
The events began in Taipei yesterday with a two-day display of 16 photographs taken by US-based photographer Toshi Kazama, featuring pictures of death-row inmates in the US and Taiwan, execution sites, a prisoner’s last meal and execution devices, such as the electric chair.
The collaboration marks the first time that the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty has organized events incorporating music and photographs to raise public awareness on the issue, said Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡), the executive director of the Taipei-based alliance.
Holding the events this month is significant because Taiwan has executed inmates in the spring of the previous two years, Lin said.
Taiwan ended a four-year moratorium on executions in 2010, executing four prisoners that year and another five in March last year, drawing criticism from the EU and human rights advocates.
Speaking at a news conference, Kazama said he wanted to encourage people to think about a wide range of aspects surrounding the practice of capital punishment.
“Most people just focus on whether it is right or wrong to impose the death penalty,” said the 54-year-old, who began taking photos of death-row inmates and execution sites in 1996.
“However, they don’t know the reality [surrounding the death penalty],” Kazama said, adding that the emotional impact on execution officials is often ignored.
By viewing the black-and-white photographs, Kazama said he hoped visitors to the exhibition could “see beyond just the image.”
French harpist Isabelle Perrin and her Taiwanese counterpart Shannon Chieh (解瑄) were scheduled to perform at the National Theater Concert Hall in Taipei last night, organizers said.
In a video shown at the news conference, Chieh said she hoped the performance with Perrin — who is from a country where the death penalty has been abolished — will offer people an opportunity to approach the issue in a “soft way.”
Echoing Chieh’s remarks was Fleur Willson, head of the British Trade and Cultural Office’s Political and Economic Section, who was also present at the news conference.
An arts performance is an easier way to get the message across to people, she said.
Kazama’s photographs will also go on display in Greater Kaohsiung from Thursday through April 11.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
RSS