A special exhibition on life in Taiwan during the Martial Law era opened at the Taipei City Archives yesterday.
To 1987 (致1987) runs until Oct. 28 at the Shuxin Hall (“Tree Heart Hall,” 樹心會館) in front of the Nishi Honganji Temple (西本願寺) near the Ximending area (西門町).
The year 1987 has special meaning for many, as it saw the end of nearly 40 years of martial law.
Photo: Chung Hung-liang, Taipei Times
For most younger people, the term, “Martial Law era,” is only that — a term seen in political slogans or history textbooks, the city archives said.
However, the parents of the millennial generation experienced how under Martial Law the government imposed uniformity of thought, clothing and hairstyles, while books and songs were blacklisted and it was forbidden to found political parties or newspapers, it said.
The era coincided with the Cold War period, which saw heightened tensions globally, and that context gave people who grew up in the years between 1970 and 1987 a rebellious and creative spirit that ushered in Taiwan’s post-martial law literary “golden age,” the archive said.
“For the people of our generation, 1987 during our youth, was a key period during which we matured and formed our own worldviews,” said social observer Chan Wei-hsiung (詹偉雄), who was invited to attend the opening.
The archives said that the exhibit touches on all facets of life in the period, including the last “Liberty Lottery” and a vinyl record of the theme song for Ching Ching (晶晶), the first soap opera produced in Mandarin, which first aired in 1969.
Bob Dylan and ABBA CD’s are also on display, the archives said.
The exhibit features Taiwanese singer Lo Ta-yu’s (羅大佑) first album, Pedantry (之乎者也), it said, adding that it also includes sections about books blacklisted under martial law and tangwai (黨外, outside the party ) magazines and events.
Chan, pundit Lin Kwei-yu (林奎佑), commonly known by his pen-name Yufu (漁夫), music critic Ma Shih-fang (馬世芳) and poet Yang Tse-man (楊澤漫) are to chair four-person talks next month and in October, the archives said.
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