Cultural researchers yesterday presented new oral history about Taiwanese independence activist Chen Chih-hsiung (陳智雄), who was executed during the White Terror era, while calling for more research on his life.
Chen was born on Feb. 18, 1916, in Pingtung County during the Japanese colonial era, but was executed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on May 28, 1963, for his promotion of Taiwanese independence.
Chen spoke Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese), Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, English, Indonesian and Malayan and was appointed by the Japanese government to work as a translation officer in Indonesia during World War II, according to a collection of papers published in 2016 by Taiwanese National Congress chairperson Ted Lau (劉重義).
After the war, Chen stayed in Indonesia, where he had a jewelry business, and married an Indonesian woman, Chen Ying-niang (陳英娘), in 1946, the collection said.
At a forum in Taipei yesterday, National Chiao Tung University Department of Humanities and Social Sciences associate professor Tsai Yen-ling (蔡晏霖) shared an interview she conducted with Chen Ying-niang in Indonesia in 2008.
Chen Ying-niang told her that she had had no idea about her ex-husband’s involvement in any political campaigns, and that he had often returned home in the early morning after having played mahjong with friends all night, Tsai said.
When she was pregnant with their first child, he was often away, Tsai said, adding that he had told her to remarry, knowing that their marriage would not continue.
The two met in Jakarta in 1950 after she remarried and Chen Chih-hsiung appeared to not want relations with other people, Tsai said.
Regarding Chen Chih-hsiung aiding Indonesian independence, the complex relations between Indonesia and its maritime occupier, Japan, and the larger international context of the 1940s must be considered, Tsai said.
Chen Chih-hsiung was kidnapped from Japan by KMT agents in the 1950s, US political activist Linda Gail Arrigo said, adding that some might want to sue the Japanese government for illegally extraditing the man.
Wu Ping-chung (吳秉中), graduate student in Taipei National University of the Arts’ Department of Filmmaking, said he plans to produce a 25 minute film that will dramatize the martyr’s life.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.