Grand Prize Winner, Adult Category March is the rainiest month in Taiwan. Not the afternoon cloudbursts of a tropical summer, nor the furious monsoons of early fall; in the time between winter and spring, the sky is a steady stream of black. But this was the period when the boys and I could spend some extended time on the island. During that first family trip to Taiwan when the boys were seven and ten, the kids and I stayed in Taipei after my husband flew back to the states for work. My job…
A sudden bang made Shih Chen Jiaotong drop the stack of freshly folded laundry she had been carrying to her bedroom on the third floor of the Sifang Hospital. Another bang resonated through the building, where Jiaotong lived with her husband, Shih Jiangnan, and their daughters. It seemed to have come from downstairs. Jiaotong stepped over a few stray shirts and headed toward the stairway, trying to make out the sounds’ origin. As she reached the second floor, the hospital ward, muffled…
Feature image: Memorial Foundation of 228 How should a nation reckon with its sins? On the 75th anniversary of the 228 Massacre in Taiwan, and in the midst of ever-greater geopolitical distress, we invite our community to reflect with us on life under and after authoritarian violence. History is rife with the patterns of misinformation masquerading as prophecy; ego presented as hope; fear as our moral compass. In Green Island Secrets, Professor Chung-chih Li writes, "how one feels about…
From the judges, Charles Yu and Shawna Yang Ryan: "In this sophisticated collection of poems confronting personal and community history, Spencer Chang elegantly uses a variety of poetic forms, white space, and highly original images to great emotional effect. In language where violence and beauty collide, Chang illuminates historical events such as the 228 Massacre, the murder of Vincent Chin, and the sacrifice of the Chinese in the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. Ultimately,…
By Joyce Chen & Leona Chen |
74 years have elapsed since the 1947 February 28 Massacre in Taiwan, when building resentment over inflation, constant military occupation, and police brutality culminated in an island-wide protest. When local Taiwanese leaders demanded administration reforms, free elections, and accountability for government corruption, the Chinese Nationalist army began a violent campaign to impose martial law, executing teachers, students, and commercial leaders. An estimated…
Seventy-two years after Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s forces massacred more than twenty thousand Taiwanese in ‘the February 28th Incident’, Taiwan is in the midst of an unacknowledged revolution. You will not find the Taiwanese Revolution named in history books or identified in newspapers. Indeed, it is assumed that this revolution has yet to occur – or rather that it never will. Yet to occur, because there is no internationally-accepted Taiwanese Republic and never to occur,…
Journalism & Scholarship Force Us to Bear Witness to Taiwan's Darkest Era
By Dr. Chung-Chih Li, edited by Leona Chen
Editor’s Note: In 1981, Professor Chen Wen-Cheng (陳文成), assistant professor of mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University, was taken for interrogation by Taiwan’s secret police under allegations of sedition. Despite official reports of a friendly and cordial interview, he was found dead the next day at National Taiwan University. Thirteen broken ribs. Three fractured…
Dear friends, Taiwanese United Fund - TUF cordially invites you to join us for the 2-28 Commemorative Concert on Tuesday, 2-28-2017 at the Arcadia Presbyterian Church. It was 70 years ago when the 2-28 massacre happened in Taiwan. More than 40,000 elites and innocent citizens were killed, arrested, and disappeared. This part of Taiwan History was a forbidden topic and purposely hidden by the government while we were growing up!! On the day 2-28, we hold a Commemorative Concert to commemorate…
70th Anniversary of the 228 Massacre Memorial Concert will be held on Sunday, February 26th. Special Guest Speaker Mr. Jonathan Benda
"Taiwan's White Terror through the Eyes of Two Cold War American Writers" Guest Speaker Ms. Shirely Lin
Performances by the Taiwan Center Choir, Dances by Li Wenxin and Orchestral Music from Hsiao Tai-Ran 1947. In addition, 3 films with focuses on events during and after the 228 Massacre will be shown free of charge to interested viewers: 天馬茶房…
Filial piety and betrayal! Martial law and political prisoners! Stinky Tofu! We’re exploring new Taiwanese American lit from the Shilin night market to the historical trauma of the White Terror. Come hear novelists Shawna Yang Ryan and Ed Lin, who’ll discuss their books with beauty and fashion politics blogger Arabelle Sicardi (Teen Vogue and ROOKIE). We'll also have complementary Taiwan Beer, generously donated by Taiwan Beer. Gan bei! RESERVE A SEAT! $5 SUGGESTED DONATION | OPEN TO…
