The 2025 Green Island Biennial delves into temporal and spatial isolation experienced by political prisoners in remote confinement, head curator Nobuo Takamori (高森信男) said at an opening ceremony in New Taipei City on Tuesday.
While Green Island is geographically close to Taiwan, it came to symbolize a barrier during the White Terror period, ostracizing people who were politically prosecuted and condemned from society and time, Takamori said.
That forms the backdrop of the exhibition’s theme, “Duration of 149 Sea Miles: The Struggle of Memory Against Forgetting,” the curator said, adding that the distance represents the journey the first group of political prisoners took to reach Green Island from Keelung.
Photo courtesy of Ministry of Culture
The then-authoritarian Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government began sending political prisoners to Green Island for imprisonment in 1951, many of whom were subjected to forced labor, he added.
Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) said that people living on Taiwan proper were similarly cut off from the outside world under the reign of a dictatorship, as they could not leave the country freely, and the flow of information was strictly controlled and censored.
The minister pledged continued government support to preserve the memories of the White Terror era and to promote human rights education in Taiwan.
From today through Sept. 21, dozens of video recordings, installations and drawings, among other artworks, are on exhibit at what is now called the Green Island White Terror Memorial Park, Takamori said.
Through the lens of 31 artists from Taiwan and overseas, and by drawing comparisons between Taiwan and other countries with turbulent pasts, the biennial seeks to promote a better understanding of the history of the White Terror era.
Among the works is For Every Freedom, Hope Remains, a series of large-scale woodcut prints made by Malaysian art group Pangrok Sulap.
Woodcut art has always been rooted in the culture of “resistance” to those in power, Pangrok Sulap member Adi said, adding that the group’s work “honors the strength of those who endured oppression” and “reminds us the struggle for freedom is never over.”
Taiwanese artist Wang Te-yu (王德瑜) is showcasing N22.40, an installation designed to pay tribute to late White Terror victim and human rights advocate Tsai Kun-lin (蔡焜霖), with the hope of inspiring visitors to reflect on the importance of freedom and human rights.
The Green Island White Terror Memorial Park — formerly a prison compound that held political prisoners, as well as serious offenders and criminal gang members — was transformed in 2018 into a museum commemorating the victims of political repression during the White Terror period from 1949 to 1992.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS