A memorial event for democracy advocate Chen Wen-chen (陳文成) was held in Taipei yesterday on the 39th anniversary of his death.
Chen, who was a statistics professor at Carnegie Mellon University in the US, was found dead on National Taiwan University (NTU) campus on the morning of July 3, 1981, during a visit to Taiwan.
A day earlier, he had been interrogated by the Taiwan Garrison Command, a Martial Law-era state security agency that has since been disbanded.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Although Chen’s death remains unsolved, a report by the Transitional Justice Commission in May said that he was likely murdered and that the Taiwan Garrison Command might have been involved.
The evening memorial had been scheduled for the Dr Chen Wen-chen Incident Memorial Square (陳文成事件紀念廣場) at NTU, but was moved inside the First Student Activity Center due to rain.
It was co-organized by the NTU Student Association, the NTU Graduate Student Association, the Dr Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation and the Professor Chen Wen-Chen Memorial Foundation.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德), Transitional Justice Commission Chairwoman Yang Tsui (楊翠), Dr Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation chairwoman Yang Huang Maysing (楊黃美幸), Professor Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation board member Huang Ching-chih (黃靜芝) and National Human Rights Museum Director Chen Chun-hung (陳俊宏) were among the attendees.
Organizers led attendees in a minute’s silence in honor of those affected by the 228 Incident and the White Terror era.
Yang Huang said that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) owed Taiwanese “many apologies.”
It matters less who carried out the alleged murder than who ordered it, she said.
Leather Lattice (皮格子樂團) performed three songs in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) that the band said were inspired by the White Terror era and Chen Wen-chen’s death.
Performances by Ai-wen (艾文) and Monbaza Chang (張耘之) were among several others at the event, which began at 7pm and was ongoing as of press time last night.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the Democratic Progressive Party yesterday also marked the anniversary on Facebook.
Additional reporting by CNA
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS