An exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the 228 Massacre opened yesterday at the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum.
The exhibition features posters, artifacts, publications, photographs and video footage about the massacre, which will provide visitors with a thorough understanding of the incident, said the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs, which oversees the museum.
The exhibition also marks the museum’s 20th anniversary by highlighting the time and energy put in by the museum’s founders to document the massacre, the department said.
The Taipei museum was the first in the nation to focus on the 228 Incident.
Four outdoor concerts are scheduled from tomorrow to Tuesday on the plaza in front of the museum as part of the exhibition activities, the department said.
The Ode to Democracy — composed by Chung Yiu-kwong (鍾耀光) with lyrics by Ho Hsin-yi (何欣怡), the great-granddaughter of 228 Massacre victim Ong Thiam-teng (王添燈) — will be featured at Monday’s concert on the eve of Feb. 28, the museum said.
“Through this exhibition, we hope to convey the message that the desire for freedom and human rights is part of human nature and the hope that people will be able to accommodate each other’s differences,” Department of Cultural Affairs Commissioner Chung Yung-feng (鍾永豐) said.
Huang Hsiu-wan (黃秀婉), Ong’s granddaughter, said that The Ode to Democracy, which consists of five movements, was composed as a memorial to the nation’s democracy pioneers and to comfort the bereaved families.
Iap Phok-bun (葉博文), the founding director of the museum, said that a substantial portion of the exhibits on the Japanese colonial era and the White Terror era were put away after the museum was renovated.
He urged the museum to put the exhibits back on display so that the nation’s history can be presented in its entirety.
The museum was established in 1997, when former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic Progressive Party was Taipei mayor.
There was controversy in 2000 when a new team from the Taiwan Regional Development Institute, which had ties to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), won the right to manage the city-owned, privately managed musuem from the Taiwan Peace Foundation.
It was closed in 2010 for a 10-month renovation under then-mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) of the KMT and was reopened by then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Feb. 20, 2011.
Ahead of the reopening, critics said the museum’s permanent exhibitions had been altered to downplay criticism of the then-KMT government’s actions during the massacre and subsequent White Terror era.
Additional reporting by staff writer
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all