Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) yesterday called on the government to establish April 7 as a national holiday to celebrate freedom of speech and commemorate Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), who self-immolated 26 years ago to protest against the then-authoritarian Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime.
“Freedom of speech is a natural right and should be protected by the state. The First Amendment of the United States constitution prohibits the making of any law depriving people of freedom of speech; our Constitution also stipulates that people shall have freedom of speech, teaching, writing and publication,” said Yao, who proposed an extemporaneous motion in the legislature in Taipei, calling for a “Freedom of Speech Day” to be established on April 7.
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 after he had been barricaded inside for 71 days to prevent his arrest following his being charged with sedition for the antigovernment views expressed in his magazine, which published a draft “Republic of Taiwan constitution” in 1988.
Photo: Facebook screen grab
The office was later named Deng Nan-jung Memorial Hall in commemoration of his bravery in calling for “100 percent freedom of expression.”
“Tainan, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Yilan, Yunlin, Chiayi and Pingtung have all made April 7 [municipal] Freedom of Speech Day and on the legislative floor I have called on the Executive Yuan to establish the day as a national holiday many times, including a declaration during the Sunflower movement last year,” Yao said.
DPP Legislator Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) seconded Yao’s proposal, saying that Deng’s deed, “to sacrifice himself for 100 percent freedom of speech, a belief harmless to others, is sublime even when put in the context of the span of human history.”
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“This is an issue that goes beyond party lines and I hope that the country and society can learn a lesson from it, so that our children understand that freedom did not come freely and that democracy is a result of relentless struggles,” Lee said, adding that he goes to a commemorative event at New Taipei City’s Chinpaoshan Cemetery (金寶山), where Deng is buried, every April 7 to pay tribute to Deng, “just as I did today [yesterday].”
To mark the 26th anniversary of Deng’s death, a number of people, on their own initiative, visited the cemetery to pay tribute to Deng.
In the cities and counties that have designated April 7 as Freedom of Speech Day activities, such as film festivals, seminars and concerts, have also been held this week to heighten public awareness of democratic values.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Punk rock group Loh Tsui Kweh Commune (濁水溪公社) also produced a music video featuring Deng’s last words to publicize his philosophy.
Additional reporting by Chang An-chiao
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
NUMBERs IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
RSS