Renowned 228 Incident remembrance advocate and musician Juan Mei-shu (阮美姝), who dedicated half of her life to seeking the truth about her father’s death, died on Monday at age 90, her family said on Monday.
Juan had diabetes, and her condition deteriorated on Wednesday last week, said Lin Li-jung (林麗容), her eldest daughter.
Juan’s father, Juan Chao-jih (阮朝日), was a victim of the massacre, an uprising that began on Feb. 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government, with estimates of the death toll varying from 10,000 to 30,000 or more. The massacre marked the beginning of the White Terror period.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Juan Chao-jih, then-general manager of the Taiwan Shin Sheng Daily News, was taken from his home by gunmen on March 12, 1947, and never seen again.
While studying music in Japan, Juan Mei-shu read Taiwanese academic Ong Iok-tek’s (王育德) Taiwan: A History of Agonies (台灣苦悶的歷史), which said that her father was killed by the government.
Ong’s allegation prompted Juan Mei-shu’s life-long pursuit of the truth about her father’s fate, which lead to the establishment of the Juan Mei-shu 228 Incident Memorial Archive, a collection of documents and artifacts related to the massacre, and the publication of two monographs on the subject: Years of Solitude and Suffering (孤寂煎熬四十五年) and A Cry in the Dark (幽暗角落的泣聲).
However, other than positing that Juan Chao-jih was almost certainly killed following his disappearance, no definitive answer has emerged from research by Juan Mei-shu or academics.
Upon hearing of Juan Mei-shu’s death, National Chengchi University history professor Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), who is chairman of the 228 Memorial Foundation, said he grieved the death of a friend he was close to for three decades, adding that he had been unable to commemorate her on social media because he was at a loss for words.
“Her works vividly illustrated the experiences of 228 Incident victims’ families, and it is deeply saddening that she has passed before the truth about her father’s death could be revealed,” Hsueh said.
Mourners can pay their respects at Juan Mei-shu’s residence in Taipei starting today, and a public memorial is to be held at the Taipei Second Funeral Parlor on Dec. 17.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
RSS