To mark the 30th anniversary of the lifting of martial law, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday launched a three-day summer camp for international students to familiarize them with the nation’s democratization.
The camp began with a tour for foreign students of several sites in the north that are significant in the history of the nation’s democratization.
Participants visited Taipei’s Nylon Cheng Liberty Foundation, New Taipei City’s Jingmei Human Rights Memorial Park, and Yilan’s Chen Ding-nan Educational Foundation and Chilin Foundation to gain a better understanding of the history of the White Terror era and democracy pioneers Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕) and Chen Ding-nan (陳定南).
The tour was fashioned after the Freedom Trail, a route in Boston, Massachusetts, that leads visitors through sites significant to US history.
“The democratic system is the most important part of our national identity and distinguishes Taiwan from China,” DPP Secretary-General Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) said. “It is why we began to think, since the 30th anniversary of the DPP’s founding last year, about how to turn Taiwan’s steps toward democracy into a cultural journey or part of the nation’s assets.”
The DPP last year marked the 30th anniversary of its founding and the 30th anniversary of the lifting of martial law this year, and how they contributed to the dismantling of an authoritarian regime and the building of the nation’s democratic system over the years, he added.
“The party’s mission over the next 30 years is to protect our democracy,” Hung said.
Participants included students from the US, Europe and Africa, as well as Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and India. The presence of Southeast Asian students is in line with the New Southbound Policy that the DPP administration has implemented to connect with the region, the party said.
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
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City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the