A memorial in honor of democracy advocate Chen Wen-chen (陳文成) was officially inaugurated yesterday, as dignitaries and family members commemorated the mathematician who died under mysterious circumstances during the White Terror era.
Chen, an assistant professor of mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University, was visiting family in Taiwan when he was found dead near a library at National Taiwan University (NTU) on July 3, 1981.
A day earlier, the 31-year-old had been detained and interrogated by the Taiwan Garrison Command, a state security force that has since been disbanded.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Chen’s brother-in-law, Tai Hsien-ming (戴憲明), opened the dedication of the Dr Chen Wen-chen Incident Memorial Square (陳文成事件紀念廣場) at NTU with a violin performance, followed by remarks by university president Kuan Chung-ming (管中閔).
“The life of this innocent man stopped on this patch of lawn, causing his family forever irreconcilable grief,” Kuan said. “But it shocked people to their core, awakening Taiwanese to the pursuit of human rights, democracy and freedom.”
The memorial not only mourns the NTU alumnus, but also serves as a reminder of the other heroes who fought for Taiwan’s future, he said, calling for timely clarification of the truth so that the departed could be afforded peace.
Kuan also extended the school’s thanks to the Dr Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation, students and everyone who donated to create the memorial.
Foundation chairwoman Yang Huang Maysing (楊黃美幸) in her remarks gave historical context to the memorial.
“Today is a witness to history,” she said. “Forty years ago, Dr Chen Wen-chen fell on this spot.”
In 1984, Chen’s father traveled across the US to raise awareness of his son’s death, giving 135 talks and wearing a placard that read: “Give me the truth. Give me my son,” Yang said.
However, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) obstructed the truth, even banning foundations from using Chen’s name until 2000, she said, urging the party to face its past sins, as well as publicly apologize and offer compensation to Chen’s family.
“Our history praises [then-president] Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) as the driver of democracy,” she said. “This is the greatest insult to common sense.”
Today, even when facing intimidation by the Chinese Communist Party, Taiwanese are not afraid, because they believe “where there is a will, there is a way,” she added.
To those who doubt the circumstances surrounding Chen’s death, Tai presented a photograph of his brother-in-law, saying: “He is so bright, so confident; how could he have come here and committed suicide? You must be critical of authoritarian propaganda.”
NTU Students’ Association president Yang Tzu-ang (楊子昂) said that the memorial was designed around the concept of “emptiness” to represent the opacity of historical truth, and the blank terror of prison cells and interrogation rooms.
“Outsiders cannot see what insiders do,” Yang Tzu-ang said.
She also thanked generations of students for taking up the mantle after 10 years of rejection and stalemates with conservative school administrations.
The foundation in 2011 sent a letter to the NTU president requesting the creation of a memorial, but never received a response.
A year later, a student representative brought it up at a school affairs meeting, but the president at the time transferred the matter to the Gallery of NTU History.
The proposal finally passed in 2014 and a design competition began in 2016.
However, just as construction was set to begin in 2019, the newly instated Kuan rescinded the school’s promise to shoulder half of the cost and stopped soliciting donations, saying that he would be criticized either way as it is a sensitive political topic.
The foundation, student association and mathematics department rushed to reach the fundraising target on their own, raising NT$11 million (US$387,501) in only three months.
A donation agreement was inked with NTU, which provided NT$1 million, in February last year and construction began in July.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
RSS