On the 24th anniversary of an incident involving the Taiwan Independence Association (TIA), a documentary made by four young people who were born in the 1990s to present the story and show their quest for knowledge of lesser-known history was released yesterday.
“I first learned about the TIA incident when I was reading the memoirs of [veteran Taiwanese independence leader] Su Beng (史明),” Liao Chien-hua (廖建華), director of The Last Insurrection (末代叛亂犯), said at the film’s premiere in Taipei. “I was actually quite upset that I did not know that Investigation Bureau agents had broken into the student dorm at National Tsing Hua University [NTHU], arrested a student in his dorm room and charged him with sedition after Martial Law was lifted.”
Liao, who was born in 1990 and graduated from NTHU last year, said he used to believe that there had not been any more political persecutions after the Martial Law era ended in 1987. Learning about the TIA incident came as a shock to him, inspiring him to dig more into history and make the film with three other friends, who were also born in the 1990s.
The TIA incident refers to a case in which the Investigation Bureau under the Ministry of Justice arrested four people — NTHU student Liao Wei-chen (廖偉程), Aboriginal rights activist Masao Nikar, political activist Wang Hsiu-hui (王秀惠) and historian Chen Cheng-jen (陳正然) — accused them of having been directed by Tokyo-based TIA founder Su to organize activities for Taiwan independence and charged them with sedition.
According to the now-defunct Punishment of Rebellion Act (懲治叛亂條例), the four would receive the death penalty if found guilty.
The arrests triggered student strikes and demonstrations across the nation, including a student-led occupation of the Taipei Railway Station to protest what was seen as the government’s suppression of the freedom of expression.
Pressured, the legislature abolished the Punishment of Rebellion Act nine days later on May 17, 1990, and the four were immediately freed.
Liao Chien-hua said that he and his friends made the film to remind the public about the event.
To get a full picture of what happened, the team interviewed more than 40 people, from the victims, activists and their friends, to former officials, such as then-Investigation Bureau director-general Wu Tung-ming (吳東明) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), who was the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) secretary-general at the time.
However, when the team also requested an interview with former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), who was in power at the time, Lee declined, saying that he did not remember much about the event.
A public screening of the film is to be held next Sunday in the lobby of Taipei Railway Station to coincide with the anniversary of the group’s release, and a student demonstration scene is to be reproduced at the railway station as well.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS