Pro-democracy activists and women’s rights groups yesterday held outdoor performances to commemorate victims of the White Terror era, when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) suppressed political dissidents, and called for May 19 to be restored a national holiday.
The then-KMT government on May 19, 1949, declared martial law in Taiwan, which lasted until July 15, 1987.
More than 40 organizations, headed by the Koo Kwang-ming Foundation and the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Foundation, yesterday gathered in front of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei to hold cultural and artistic performances and demand that May 19 be designated as a national holiday named “White Terror Memorial Day.”
Photo: CNA
This year’s commemorative event focused on the courage and suffering of women during the White Terror era.
Actors performed the play Black-Face Action, which is about Pan Ying-hsueh (潘英雪), the daughter of famous Chiayi doctor Pan Mu-chih (潘木枝) who was executed by the KMT regime in the mass killings on Feb. 28, 1947. Pan Ying-hsueh covered her face in black paint to avoid being recognized by the authorities as she escaped to Taipei in search of her brother.
Following the execution of her father by the KMT regime, Pan Ying-hsueh was arrested and endured physical and mental hardship. She was later released and relocated to a mountain village in Nantou County.
Photo: Lo Kuo-chia, Taipei Times
Years later, she heard her brother was working in Taipei and left Nantou to find him, painting her face to avoid being recognized.
“Today’s performance aims to remind people of Pan Ying-hsueh and her family’s story during the 228 Massacre and White Terror era that followed it. Her story is a symbol of the courage and determination of female victims during terrible years under the KMT’s authoritarian rule,” the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Foundation said in a statement.
Separately, the National Human Rights Museum held a ceremony yesterday, marking the 76th anniversary of the declaration of martial law in 1949.
Speaking at the event held at the Jing-mei White Terror Memorial Park in New Taipei City, Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) said May 19 is a date that "must not be forgotten" by Taiwanese people.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Mark Mark Ho (何志偉) said the White Terror is "an inerasable memory in the democratic history of both Taiwan and the world."
Ho added that he regularly takes visiting foreign guests from the Presidential Office to the nearby Memorial to the Victims of the White Terror located in the northwest corner of Jieshou Park.
"The monument reminds everyone that history cannot be forgotten and must be protected and passed on by every generation," Ho said.
More than 100 people attended the ceremony, including family members of political victims.
At the end of the ceremony, guests laid flowers at the monument in tribute to the victims.
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