A series of lectures, film screenings and discussions are to be held in Taipei through April 25 to mark Freedom of Speech Day, which was yesterday.
The events, which began yesterday, are being organized by the Ministry of the Interior, the Memorial Foundation of 228 and the Nylon Cheng Liberty Foundation.
The series, with the theme of “On the Road to Freedom of Speech,” comprises the “Human Library” lecture series, as well as the Human Rights and Freedom Film Festival and post-screening discussions, the organizers said.
Photo: CNA
From 2pm to 4pm on Saturday, Institute of Watch Internet Network chief executive officer Huang Yi-feng (黃益豐) is to give a lecture on the difference between freedom of speech on the Internet and cyberbullying, as well as regulation and self-discipline within the context of free speech online, they said.
From 3pm to 5pm on Saturday next week, Taiwan FactCheck Center editor-in-chief Summer Chen (陳慧敏) is to give a lecture exploring the purpose of the dissemination of false news, and how to identify such reports, the organizers said.
From 2pm to 4pm on April 24, Ou Su-ying (歐素瑛), a history professor at National Taiwan University, is to give a lecture discussing freedom of speech on school campuses, they said.
Screenings of South Korean director Kim Ui-seok’s debut feature After My Death, Oscar-nominated The Post by director Steven Spielberg, and the 2018 thriller Searching by director Aneesh Chaganty are to begin at 2pm on Sunday, on April 18 and on April 25 respectively, the organizers said.
The screenings are to be followed by discussions led by counseling psychologist Lin Chen-yi (林甄儀), Plain Law Movement senior editor Wang Ting-yu (王鼎棫) and UN Office of Information and Communications Technology consultant Jack Huang (黃一展) respectively, they added.
The events are to be held at the National 228 Memorial Museum in Zhongzheng District (中正), the organizers said.
April 7 was declared Freedom of Speech Day by the Executive Yuan in December 2016 to commemorate the death of democracy activist Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕, also known as Nylon Cheng).
Deng, who founded the magazine Freedom Era Weekly in 1984 to fight for “100 percent freedom of speech,” died by self-immolation on April 7, 1989, as police broke into his office after he had been barricaded inside for 71 days to avoid arrest after he was charged with sedition for having printed a draft “Republic of Taiwan constitution” in 1988.
Taiwan’s path to achieving freedom of speech has been a “bumpy” one, Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said yesterday at the series’ opening ceremony at the museum, adding that it took hard work to reach the level of freedom the nation enjoys today.
The nation’s hard-won freedom of speech was made possible due to the sacrifice of individuals like Deng, Hsu said, urging people to defend it with “all our strength.”
More information about the events can be found at www.228.org.tw or www.moi.gov.tw.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS