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.
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
SIX SUBSIDIES: The monthly allowance for older farmers is to increase to NT$10,000, and NT$5,000 is to be given to homemakers under the national pension system, Lai said The government is to implement major welfare policies for disadvantaged groups, including raising the monthly allowance for older farmers to NT$10,000 and providing homemakers with NT$5,000 per month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks during a visit to Wangling Temple in Chiayi County, saying that the planned increases were being introduced amid economic growth and an increase in tax revenue. Touting a policy, in which the government plans to provide a monthly allowance of NT$5,000 for every child under the age of 18 in a bid to address Taiwan’s low birthrate, Lai said that if received for the
STAY COOL: The HPA recommended that people stay hydrated, use air-conditioning or fans while indoors, wear loose-fitting clothes and walk in the shade while outdoors Employers must implement measures such as installing cooling equipment, and providing drinking water and rest breaks for outdoor workers starting from Monday next week, the Taipei Department of Labor said on Sunday. Employers who fail to comply could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法), the department said. Businesses in Taipei employing fewer than 100 workers, as well as registered self-employed workers with labor insurance coverage, could receive on-site assessments and guidance from occupational safety consultants to help them apply for central government subsidies to implement or improve heat-protection measures, it said. Under the Ministry of
ISOLATION: The outposts would serve as support and backup bases, forcing US forces to either face China head-on or reroute, increasing travel time and operational costs China’s outposts in the South China Sea could be used to delay and constrain foreign forces during a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, giving Beijing a critical window to carry out amphibious landing and blockade operations, a report said. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) forward operating bases on islands and reclaimed features in the South China Sea could delay foreign forces long enough for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to secure a key 48-to-72-hour window in the Taiwan Strait, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council found. The report, conducted by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, examined
RSS