Hundreds of music fans yesterday took in performances by independent musicians at the Gongsheng Music Festival (共生音樂節) in Taipei, a student-led event aimed at raising youth awareness of the 228 Incident.
The event marked the 68th anniversary of the 228 Incident, which refers to nationwide anti-government uprisings that began on Feb. 27, 1947, and a series of bloody purges that followed in the subsequent months by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime.
The festival featured performances from many prominent folk singers and indie rock bands, accompanied by dozens of stands promoting the ideas of civic advocacy groups.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Lectures on the 228 Incident took place next to the music venue, while volunteers from activist groups weaved through the audience to garner support for various social causes and petitions — ranging from campaigns against land seizures to grassroots support for Taiwanese independence.
This year’s festival theme was “The Youth Rise Again,” in reference to the upsurge in youth activism over the past few years, including the Sunflower movement in March and April last year, in which student-led protesters occupied the main chamber of the Legislative Yuan for almost 23 days over the government’s handling of the cross-strait service trade agreement.
Now in its third year, the event was spearheaded by a coalition of students from several universities nationwide.
The organizers said that like contemporary Taiwanese youth devoted to social reform, many youth organizations stand against the authoritarianism of the 228 Incident.
“We wanted to emphasize the role of youth activism in relation to the 228 Incident,” National Taiwan University political science student and event organizer Chen Ming-kai (陳銘凱) said.
He added that the event has garnered more support and attention as a result of the Sunflower movement last year.
Freddy Lim (林昶佐), lead singer of the metal band Chthonic and founding member of the New Power Party, said that it was important to spread knowledge of Taiwanese history through such events.
“The whole world knows that Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) is among the top five dictators in the world, who slaughtered the most people during peacetime, but it seems like only Taiwanese people do not know and continue to vote his party [the KMT] into office,” Lim said while pointing toward the nearby Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Taiwan Association for Truth and Reconciliation executive secretary Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈) said that although many historical files from Taiwan’s authoritarian period have been made public — including those related to the 228 Incident and the subsequent White Terror era — not enough government resources have been devoted to conducting research on the files.
She urged young Taiwanese to conduct their own historical research on Taiwan’s authoritarian past by applying for files through the National Archives Administration’s online system.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS