A television commercial made by supermarket chain Pxmart for the upcoming Ghost Festival — which falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, when people prepare food to honor the dead with traditional pudu (普渡) ceremonies — appears to portray White Terror victim Ting Yao-tiao (丁窈窕).
It is the second advertisement in recent days that critics have linked to the White Terror era. The first, which was on Tuesday withdrawn by the company, was believed to feature the likeness of activist Chen Wen-chen (陳文成).
Chen’s family said that he was killed in 1981 by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government for supporting the democracy movement.
Photo copied by Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
The White Terror era was a period of political persecution that took place during the nation’s Martial Law era, which lasted from May 19, 1949, to July 15, 1987.
Ting was executed in 1956 after being framed as a communist spy.
Transitional Justice Promotion Committee member Yang Tsui (楊翠), who researches feminist victims of political persecution, on Friday said that records of Ting’s execution show that her daughter was present at the time and that she pleaded with the authorities, saying: “My mother is not a bad person. Do not shoot her.”
In the latest Pxmart ad, a woman who appears to be Ting at the age of 29, just before she was executed, describes being pushed to the ground with great force. The woman in the commercial speaks Japanese and her daughter is shown trimming a bonsai tree.
Ting was educated during the Japanese colonial era and was pregnant with her daughter at the time of her arrest in 1954, Yang said, alluding to the similarities between Ting and the woman in the commercial.
Ting was arrested after the KMT authorities alleged she was connected with a communist group based in Tainan and taking instructions from Chinese Communist Party member Qian Jingzhi (錢靜芝), who was responsible for directing Taiwanese communist youth.
It was later discovered that Ting was framed by an informant who found a banned book in her desk. The informant had a grudge against her because she told a friend not to pursue a relationship with him.
After Ting was executed, her daughter would not stop crying no matter who held her, Yang said.
Only when the father was tracked down and he came to take her home did the daughter stop crying, she added.
After a tree on the National Tainan Girls’ Senior High School campus — where a detention facility once stood — was uprooted by a typhoon in 2015, workers found a metal cigarette tin that Ting had buried there. Inside it she had hidden a lock of her hair and a farewell letter to her friend and fellow inmate, Kuo Chen-chun (郭振純), because she was convinced she would be executed.
On Feb. 10 last year, the school’s affairs committee elected to remove the statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) that stood in front of the tree, which had been replanted.
The statue was moved to the grounds of a former military dependents’ village in Tainan’s Yongkang Park.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
Passengers on Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) will be required to use headphones and make phone calls in gangways under new “quiet travel” rules starting Sept. 22. THSR Chairman Shih Che (史哲) told media that THSR will run a three-month promotional campaign to ensure widespread adoption of the new rules. Those repeatedly ignoring the guidance face the potential termination of their transport contract, which can result in them getting escorted off the train, according to THSR. Shih shared his hope to cultivate an environment conducive to rest and reading for the train’s passengers, stating that these changes aim to “promote self-discipline” among passengers
RSS