An exhibition that explores the White Terror era is on display at the Sinying Cultural Center (新營文化中心) in Tainan.
The show, titled “The White Dream: An Exhibition on the Victims of Political Persecution During Taiwan’s White Terror,” was organized by the Tainan Bureau of Cultural Affairs. The exhibition opened on Thursday last week and runs through Dec. 13.
It includes historical documents, manuscripts and oral histories that tell the stories of 17 people, including victims and their families, as well as artwork and/or writings by them.
The White Terror era refers to the repression that began after the 228 Incident in 1947, when an anti-government uprising was violently suppressed by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government, which later declared martial law and initiated purges.
Historians estimate that between 10,000 and 30,000 people were killed during the crackdown.
Of the 17 people whose stories are included in the exhibition, 12 were directly persecuted, while the remaining had family members who were victimized.
Among the artwork in the show are White Terror survivor and artist Chen Wu-jen’s (陳武鎮) oil paintings collectively titled the Shadow Series (陰影系列), and his wooden sculptures The Political Prisoner (政治犯) and Fictitious Crimes of Enormity (虛擬巨惡).
The exhibit also includes the final draft of former political prisoner and physician Yen Shih-hung’s (顏世鴻) autobiography, titled No. 3 Chingtao East Road (青島東路三號), named for the address of a military detention facility in Taipei where he was held before his trial.
Ting Yao-tiao’s (丁窈窕) story is examined in detail at the exhibition. She was executed in 1956 at the age of 28 for alleging being a “bandit [communist] spy,” but materials in the exhibition show that she died as the result of a fabricated accusation made by an informant who held a grudge against her.
Ting had advised a friend, Shih Shui-huan (施水環), against pursuing a relationship with the informant, who then took revenge by reporting Ting to the Taiwan Provincial Security Command, using a banned book he found on her desk, the materials show.
Shih was also arrested and executed on the same day as Ting, historians said.
“To its victims, the history of the White Terror vanished as if it was a dream, but it was a dream that left an indelible mark on their lives,” Tainan Cultural Affairs Bureau Director Yeh Tse-shan (葉澤山) said.
The show is part of the bureau’s research on victims of the White Terror, and is funded by a grant from the Preparatory Office of the National Human Rights Museum.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
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
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