White Terror victim and human rights campaigner Tsai Kuan-yu (蔡寬裕) was on Saturday posthumously awarded a presidential citation in recognition of his contributions toward promoting human rights and transitional justice.
At a memorial in New Taipei City, Tsai’s three children accepted the citation from Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君).
Tsai “devoted himself to defending the values of freedom and human rights throughout his life” and served as an “exemplar,” the citation said.
Photo: CNA
It also commended him for his involvement in the introduction of the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例) in 2017 and the establishment of the National Human Rights Museum a year later.
His efforts paved the way for more government efforts to expose state wrongdoings during the White Terror era — a period of political repression by the-then Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime from 1947 to 1987 — and compensate those harmed.
Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) highlighted Tsai’s legacy and said his ministry would continue transitional justice initiatives.
Born in Taipei on Feb. 5, 1933, Tsai was imprisoned twice for a total of 13 years in the 1950s and 1960s.
He was first targeted by the authorities in 1957 and detained for about six months after being accused of inciting his classmates to strike in protest of the government’s handling of the killing of a Taiwanese by a US military officer, which was later known as the “Liu Tzu-jan (劉自然) incident” or the “May 24 incident.”
In 1962, while teaching at and managing an institute providing after-school classes, Tsai was arrested for his suspected involvement in pro-Taiwanese independence activities.
That time, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
He was initially imprisoned in New Taipei City, but was later transferred to Taitung County, where he became embroiled in an attempt by a group of activists outside the prison to occupy the facility by force.
Tsai agreed to help open the prison gate for the group, but the government stopped the plan before he could take any action. As a result, Tsai received an additional three years in jail.
After he was released in May 1975, he launched a shoe manufacturing business in Taichung with his friends.
He began calling for government redress for political prisoners after the lifting of Martial Law in 1987.
In his later years, he volunteered at the National Human Rights Museum, where he regularly gave lectures and guided tours.
Tsai died in early September at the age of 91.
Shortly after his passing, President William Lai (賴清德) offered his condolences to Tsai’s family and said the late activist’s “unwavering dedication to the work of transitional justice” would be remembered, a statement issued by the Presidential Office said.
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