Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) yesterday appealed to Taiwanese to “pledge your lives to defend freedom and democracy” at the opening of a set of exhibitions on democracy activism.
Two exhibitions opened simultaneously yesterday at the Assembly Affairs Museum of the Legislative Yuan in Taichung, attended by You, Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌), Chiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation executive director Chiang Chao-ken (蔣朝根) and descendants of key democracy advocates.
The exhibitions commemorate the 30th anniversary of democracy at the Legislative Yuan, and the centenary of the Taiwan Representative Participation Union and the subsequent crackdown termed the “Peace and Order Police Act” Incident.
Photo: Huang Hsu-lei, Taipei Times
Taiwan’s democracy was won by the blood, sweat and tears of these pioneers, who passed down the baton without fear, You said.
The democratic landscape is shrinking, as Hong Kong, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ukraine and other nations fight against encroaching authoritarianism, he said, urging the “23 million Taiwanese to cherish and pledge our lives to defend our freedom and democracy.”
If one day China democratizes, historians can trace the origins of Chinese democracy to Taiwan, he said.
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants,” he said, quoting former US president Thomas Jefferson.
Freedom and democracy are like air: “you only know how precious it is when it is gone,” You added.
The Taiwan Representative Participation Union was formed in 1923 during the Japanese colonial era to advocate for an autonomous Taiwanese Representative Assembly.
Police responded in December of that year with 41 arrests of suspected members and 58 court summonses, resulting in the first trials under a new colonial security law.
The exhibitions, accessible free of charge, are to continue until Feb. 29 next year on the ground floor of the Chao-chin Memorial Building (朝琴紀念館) in the Democratic Discussion Park in Taichung’s Wufeng District (霧峰).
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