Bo Yang (
Surrounded by family members, old friends and admirers, the long-time social critic spelled out his biggest wish, which was directed at Taiwan's younger generation.
"It's my deep hope our young people will be able to live with dignity. Dignity, as far as I'm concerned, can't be obtained through pride or wildness. Rather, it can only be established when we learn to always pay due respect to others," Bo Yang said.
PHOTO: AP
Bo Yang, whose satirical essays about Chinese culture have made him one of the most famous writers in Chinese literature, was born in China in 1920. He fled to Taiwan in 1949 after the defeat of the KMT.
Born in a turbulent era, Bo Yang does not know precisely on which day he was born. The outspoken writer nominated March 4, 1968, as his "day of rebirth" -- the day his incarceration at the hands of the KMT regime began.
In the 1960s, Bo Yang wrote a series of essays for newspaper columns. But it was his translations of an English-language comic in 1967, which were seen by the Chiang Kai-shek (
Bo Yang was finally freed from the notorious "Devil Island" in 1977, after persistent efforts by Sun Kuan-han (
Sun, an aging friend of Bo Yang, also appeared at his birthday party yesterday. Looking over his family members and dozens of friends, the writer said he was happy and called himself the "luckiest person in the world."
"It's the most glorious moment of my life," Bo Yang said delightfully. "Life was tough to me and during it I narrowly escaped from death several times."
"But thank God I have so many friends who have always given me a hand whenever I was in despair," he said. "They have shown me a lot of mercy. I can't name them all, but soon I'll write something to spell out my gratitude to them."
Bo Yang has produced more than 100 books -- including essays, novels, history, and poetry -- since the beginning of his writing career in the 1950s.
His famous book The Ugly Chinaman (醜陋的中國人), a collection of lectures and essays focusing on the conflict between traditional Chinese culture and the values of an industrialized West, spurred furious debate in Chinese communities throughout the world, and prompted responses from editors around the world.
His experience as a political prisoner has made him a long-time human rights advocate. And his efforts in that direction produced results last December when the first human rights monument in Asia was officially inaugurated on Green Island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan. The monument, which stands near the beach, is inscribed with a poem by Bo Yang, who himself spent nearly a decade on the island jailed in a notorious maximum-security facility.
Establishment of a monument there fulfilled his dream to see the Taiwan government admit the cruel reality of its past regime, he said.
And at his birthday yesterday, Bo Yang saw another dream fulfilled -- a new anthology of his past writings was released to mark the special day.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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