DOCSLIB.ORG

Communiqué No

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Communiqué No Taiwan Communiqué Published by: Formosan Association for Public Affairs 552 7th St. SE, Washington, D.C. 20003 Tel. (202) 547-3686 International edition, April / May 2014 Published 5 times a year ISSN number: 1027-3999 146 Taiwan’s Sunflower Revolution Historic protest for democracy and a free future The 18th March 2014 will go into Taiwan’s history as a momentous day: on that date, several hundred students from universities around Taiwan entered the country’s legislature, the Legislative Yuan, and occupied the main chamber. The immediate reason was that on the previous day, a KMT chairman of a committee charged with reviewing the proposed Service Trade Agreement with China, which had been signed on 21 June 2013, abruptly decided that the “review” had been completed, without even one minute of deliberations. Photo: AFP The chairman, legislator Chang Ching-chung, sent the legislation to the plenary session of the legislature, where it would be passed by an up-or-down vote without further discussion. This move infuriated many in Taiwan’s society whose livelihood would be affected by the influx from China, and prompted the students to take action. On the following pages we present a summary account of Students in the Legislative Yuan during their occupa- the events, and also give tion from 18 March through 10 April 2014 Taiwan Communiqué -2- April / May 2014 underlying reasons for the protests: why are the students and so many others in Taiwan society upset and angry about the moves by the Ma Ying-jeou government? We also discuss the implications of the protest for both domestic politics in Taiwan (elections are coming up in 2014 and 2016), and for cross-Strait relations. Peaceful occupation of Legislative Yuan The occupation of the Legislative Yuan by the students prompted immediate expressions of support from many segments of society: During the same evening many people came to the legislature to form a “human wall” to protect the students, while a number of DPP legislators positioned themselves between the police outside and the students inside in order to prevent a forced eviction. Copyright: Taipei Times During the night of 18 March 2014, the police attempted to push their way into the legislative chamber three or four times, but were pushed back by students who had barricaded the eight entrances with chairs. During the next few days, the students settled in, and became the focus of attention of the Taiwan and international media, with publications such "Student protest dove" blocking the cross-Strait as Wall Street Journal, New Service Trade Pact gun York Times, Businessweek, Bloomberg and CNN publishing more than one article each about the developments. Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng, who had a major run-in with President Ma Ying-jeou in the Constitutional Crisis in September 2013 over wiretapping of his telephone conversations, played a constructive role by reaching out to both sides, and by attempting to reach an agreement. Wang also insisted that no force be used to clear the legislative chamber. However, by the week’s end it became clear that the government was not going to budge: on Saturday 22 March 2014, Prime Minister Jiang Yi-huah rejected the students’ concerns Taiwan Communiqué -3- April / May 2014 and stated that government would continue to push for passage of the agreement with China, and that the agreement would not be renegotiated. On Sunday 23 March 2014, President Ma himself gave an impromptu press conference to the international press where he labeled the students’ actions “illegal” and called for an immediate passage of the highly unpopular trade agreement, completely disregarding the cause of the protest. Police violence at Executive Yuan This uncompromising stance by the Ma government prompted a separate group of some 60 students to decide to enter the Executive Yuan (Cabinet) offices, just a few blocks away from the legislature, and at 7:35 pm in the evening of 23 March this group climbed barricades and a wall surrounding the Executive Yuan compound. A number of them climbed through a window into the building, made themselves comfortable in a lounge on the second floor, and helped themselves to some “Taiyang bing” (a popular Taiwanese cake) in the fridge. The damage to lamps, chairs, furniture etc. occurred later when the heavily-armed riot police moved in and used a major amount of violence to remove these Photo: Reuters students. When they exited at a side door at Tianjin St, many of the students were limping or stumbling, some falling and needing to be helped out or nursing their injured arms, legs or their heads. Some looked dis-orientated and very distressed, much more so than one might expect if they had simply been plucked from that group inside seated with interlocking arms on the red carpet. Riot police using water cannon at student protest at Executive Yuan A courageous group of lawyers were there — in their white court robes — to meet with the students as they were led out of the building in ones or twos. The lawyers later reported that the students had been beaten severely by the riot police. Taiwan Communiqué -4- April / May 2014 In the meantime, a much larger group had remained outside the building, but inside the walled compound. They opened the gate and let supporters in. Soon there were some 3,000 protesters within the compound. They sat on the ground with interlocked arms, singing songs. Photo: Taipei Times However, at around 10:30 pm a force of around 500 riot police with sticks and shields arrived. When the police received further reinforcements by midnight, they started to move in on the peaceful crowd, hitting people with batons. Hundreds of students and bystanders were hurt, and dozens of them were rushed to hospitals. Later on in the night, police also used water cannons in their efforts to dispel the crowd. Sunflower students protesting in the rain By early Monday morning, most of the crowd within the compound had been cleared, but more than 10,000 people remained on the streets near the building. A funny follow-on story is that a deputy secretary general in the Executive Yuan complained on Monday 24 March 2014 that the students had eaten from his box of Taiyang bing and had left a cookie half eaten!! A local businessman immediately sent 150 boxes of replacement Taiyang bing, but they were not accepted by the hapless official. Videos and jokes about it were going viral in Taiwan. Seesaw negotiations In the subsequent days (March 25-28), a seesaw negotiation occurred between the presidential office and the leaders of the students still occupying the Legislative Yuan on whether, and how, a meeting could take place between president Ma and student leaders. The student leaders urged the president to: a. First propose and pass legislation governing the monitoring of negotiation and implementation of agreements with China. Taiwan Communiqué -5- April / May 2014 b. Then allow a clause-by-clause review of the Service Trade Agreement in the appropriate legislative committees, with a possibility to amend the text. This would require renegotiation of the agreement. c. Allow KMT legislators to make up their own mind on the specifics of the legislation without imposing party Copyright: Taipei Times discipline. d. Convene a constitutional conference dedicated to coming up with suggestions for improve- ment of governance and checks and balances. The present system is viewed by many as rather dysfunctional. President Ma did indicate he was willing to meet with the students, but the students felt that the proposal lacked KMT government negotiating with the student substance and sincerity. movement: "Take the olive branch" President Ma did then give a press conference on Saturday, March 29th, on the eve of the massive rally in front of the Presidential Office (see below). In the press conference Ma did make vague references to the monitoring mechanism and the constitutional conference (points a and d) but refused to budge on the crucial points, the Service Trade Agreement itself and party discipline (points b and c). Half a million people march in support A week later, on Sunday, 30 March 2014, student leaders had called for a rally in front of the presidential office in support of their campaign against the Service Trade Agreement with China. Hundreds of thousands responded: by the early afternoon some 350,000 people had flooded Ketagalan Boulevard and surrounding streets and by the end of the afternoon, the organizers estimated the crowd at 500,000, while some media outlets even had higher estimates. The organizers had speeches and music performances throughout the afternoon, and foreign observers at the scene said there was a festive atmosphere with sunflowers abounding throughout the crowd. Taiwan Communiqué -6- April / May 2014 On the same day, some 45 rallies were held in support of the students’ actions in some 16 countries around the world, including Paris, London, Berlin and Washington DC. The students in the Legislative Yuan had set up big screen videoconferencing with a number of these rallies abroad, including Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Australia. International media also extensively covered the events, including the New York Times, BBC, Bloomberg and others. A British visitor who happened to be in Taipei wrote the following impression: Photo: Reuters I did indeed get to today’s demonstration, which lived up to expectations of being a historical occasion in Taiwan History. Rather I became enveloped in it in the early afternoon. After skirting around the edges…. I soon found myself locked into the crowd, which extended almost as far as the eye could see in every Massive rally supporting the Sunflower student direction.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Island of Memories Postcolonial Historiography and Public Discourse in Contemporary Taiwan
    Island of Memories Postcolonial Historiography and Public Discourse in Contemporary Taiwan Lung-chih Chang HCM ２ (３): ２２９–２４４ DOI: １０.１５５７/HCM２０１４.３.CHAN Abstract The re-discovery of Taiwanese history along with both official and local initiatives of cultural heritage and public commemorations constitutes an important postcolonial cultural phenomenon. This paper discusses the “memory boom” in post-martial law Taiwan and examines its implications in our understanding of history, culture, and modernity in East Asian context. The major arguments of this paper can be summarised in three parts. The first section introduces the emergence of new academic and public discourses in Taiwan in the post-martial law era. The second and main section offers four major examples of postcolonial historiography and public discourse including national commemoration, ethnic revival, the heritage movement and Taiwa- nese wartime experience. The final section further illustrates the features of Taiwan’s postcolonial historiography in terms of history and memory with topical discussions on the rethinking of the modernity question and the reinterpretation of Japanese colonial heritage. Keywords: Taiwanese historiography, public history, memory, heritage, identity Introduction For a first-time visitor to Taiwan, an alternative to the must-see Taipei 101 tower or the trendy National Palace Museum is the nostalgic 228 Peace Memorial Park. The park is located in downtown Taipei right beside the ROC presidential palace, formerly the Japanese Taiwan Government-Gen- eral Building. Founded as Taipei New Park in 1908 by the Japanese, the park was renamed as 228 Peace Memorial Park in 1996 by the then city VOL. 2, NO.
    [Show full text]
  • Taipei and Seoul's Modern Urbanization Under
    sustainability Article Taipei and Seoul’s Modern Urbanization under Japanese Colonial Rule: A Comparative Study from the Present-Day Context Yeonkyung Lee Institute of Convergence Research Institute of Regional Humanities and Information, Incheon National University, Incheon 21999, Korea; [email protected]; Tel.: +82-10-5019-5372 Received: 29 April 2020; Accepted: 7 June 2020; Published: 11 June 2020 Abstract: Both Taipei and Seoul underwent a process of colonization and modern urbanization during the early part of the 20th century, under Japanese rule. In both countries, urban-planning projects from the colonial period have had a great impact on recent urban changes. This comparative analysis aims to identify the characteristics of modern cities with Japanese colonial histories, focusing on the following three aspects: (1) Urban structure based on spatial distribution by ethnic group; (2) Japanese colonial urban planning; and (3) modern boulevards that convey the power and spectacle of a colonial city. Taipei and Seoul have multi-cores because the Japanese and Taiwanese/Korean areas were not clearly separated spatially. Secondly, Japanese colonial urban planning was influenced by Japanese settlements and government facilities. Thirdly, the main boulevards in each city, created through modern urban planning, combine modern streetscapes with imperial spectacle. These boulevards took on an important political meaning after liberation. Comparative studies of Taipei and Seoul can illuminate the difference between modern cities with a Japanese colonial history and colonial cities under European rule. Such comparisons make it possible to analyze the meaning, value, and relevance of colonial remnants, including urban structure and artifacts, for each city’s sustainable future.
    [Show full text]
  • Download and Print out the Template)”
    A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick Permanent WRAP URL: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/149219 Copyright and reuse: This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] warwick.ac.uk/lib-publications How do social media affect Taiwanese people’s participation in social movements under the Ma Ying-Jeou administration between 2008 and 2016 Pei-Hsin Gwenyth Wang A dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick March 2019 3 Table of Contents List of Figures 6 List of Tables 6 List of Pictures 6 Acknowledgements 7 Declaration 8 Abstract 8 List of Abbreviations 9 Chapter 1 Introduction 10 1.1 Sunflower Movement takes social movements in Taiwan to 15 another level 1.2 Outline of the Study 25 Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 32 2.2 Citizenship 33 2.3 Is it possible young citizens’ perception of citizenship might 43 have been changed? 2.4 New forms of political participation 49 2.5 Is “digital citizenship” a potential form of citizenship in the 56 online world? 2.6 Converged technology; multiplied networks 65 2.7 Conclusion 78 Chapter 3 – Citizenship in Taiwan, a case study 3.1 Introduction 80 3.2 Taiwan’s democratisation development 86 3.3 Taiwan after the 2016 presidential election 101 3.4 Key factors behind Taiwan’s democratisation process 108 3.5 Research method 121 3.6 Conclusion 125 Chapter 4 – Resurgence of Social Movement in Taiwan 4.1.
    [Show full text]
  • Travel & Culture 2019
    July 2019 | Vol. 49 | Issue 7 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN TAIPEI IN OF COMMERCE THE AMERICAN CHAMBER TRAVEL & CULTURE 2019 TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS TAIWAN July 2019 | Vol. 49 | Issue 7 Vol. July 2019 | 中 華 郵 政 北 台 字 第 5000 號 執 照 登 記 為 雜 誌 交 寄 ISSUE SPONSOR Published by the American Chamber Of Read TOPICS Online at topics.amcham.com.tw NT$150 Commerce In Taipei 7_2019_Cover.indd 1 2019/7/3 上午5:53 CONTENTS 6 President’s View A few of my favorite Taiwan travel moments JULY 2019 VOLUME 49, NUMBER 7 By William Foreman 8 A Tour of Taipei’s Old Publisher Walled City William Foreman Much of what is now downtown Editor-in-Chief Taipei was once enclosed within Don Shapiro city walls, with access through Art Director/ / five gates. The area has a lot to Production Coordinator tell about the city’s history. Katia Chen By Scott Weaver Manager, Publications Sales & Marketing Caroline Lee 12 Good Clean Fun With Live Music in Taipei American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei Some suggestions on where to 129 MinSheng East Road, Section 3, go and the singers and bands 7F, Suite 706, Taipei 10596, Taiwan P.O. Box 17-277, Taipei, 10419 Taiwan you might hear. Tel: 2718-8226 Fax: 2718-8182 e-mail: [email protected] By Jim Klar website: http://www.amcham.com.tw 16 Taipei’s Coffee Craze 050 2718-8226 2718-8182 Specialty coffee shops have Taiwan Business TOPICS is a publication of the American sprung up on nearly every street Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, ROC.
    [Show full text]
  • Learning “Local” Languages: Passive Revolution, Language Markets, and Aborigine Education in Taiwan
    LEARNING “LOCAL” LANGUAGES: PASSIVE REVOLUTION, LANGUAGE MARKETS, AND ABORIGINE EDUCATION IN TAIWAN ______________________________________________________ A Dissertation Submitted to The Temple University Graduate Board ______________________________________________________ in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ______________________________________________________ by P. Kerim Friedman May, 2005 ii © by P. Kerim Friedman 2005 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Title: Learning “Local” Languages: Passive Revolution, Language Markets, and Aborigine Education in Taiwan Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Temple University, 2004 Doctoral Advisory Committee Chair: F. Niyi Akinnaso This dissertation examines contemporary linguistic markets and language policy in Taiwan in terms of the historical processes of state formation, class alliances, and identity politics, drawing upon Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of linguistic markets and Antonio Gramsci’s theory of hegemony as well as the literature on nationalism and linguistic ideology. Emphasis is placed on the historical processes underlying the construction of Taiwan’s linguistic markets as Taiwan’s linguistic nationalism emerged throughout history, focusing on the continuities and changes across Qing, Japanese, KMT and DPP rule. Accordingly, with language policy always in the background, the dissertation touches on several interrelated issues, including (a) the impact of each ruling historical bloc on Taiwan’s linguistic nationalism, focusing on continuities and discontinuities
    [Show full text]
  • 2018 Franklin Alexandra Thesis.Pdf (562.0Kb)
    UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE TAIWAN FIRST: THE ROLE OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN PROTECTIONIST TRADE POLICIES A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES By ALEXANDRA FRANKLIN Norman, Oklahoma 2018 TAIWAN FIRST: THE ROLE OF NATIONAL IDENTITY IN PROTECTIONIST TRADE POLICIES A THESIS APPROVED FOR THE COLLEGE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES BY ______________________________ Dr. Mark Raymond, Chair ______________________________ Dr. Fabio de Sa E Silva ______________________________ Dr. Daniel Hicks © Copyright by ALEXANDRA FRANKLIN 2018 All Rights Reserved. Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................. iv Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Case Study: Taiwan .............................................................................................................. 3 Background ........................................................................................................................... 4 Framework and Scope ......................................................................................................... 6 Significance ........................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter Overview .............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • TAIPEI,Taiwan AREA City 271.7997 Km2 Water 2.7 Km2 1.0% Urban 2,457 Km2
    TAIPEI,Taiwan AREA City 271.7997 km2 Water 2.7 km2 1.0% Urban 2,457 km2 TAIPEI POPULATION City 2,619,920 Density 9,639.16/km2 Urban 6,752,826 Metro 10,072,918 HISTORY DEMOGRAPHICS GEOGRAPHY BADE PROJECT CLIMATE ADMINISTRATION ANALISYS ECONOMY TRANSPORTATION ENVIRONMENT AND POLLUTION RAILWAY PROJECT NATURAL RESOURCES ENERGY RESOURCES NOTABLE BUILDINGS HISTORY Taipei was founded in the early 18th century and became an important center for overseas trade in the 19th century. The Japanese acquired Taiwan in 1895 after the First Sino-Japanese War and made Taipei the island’s capital. The Republic of China took over the island in 1945 after Japan’s defeat in World War II. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek declared Taipei the provisional capital of the Republic of China in December 1949 after Kuomintang (KMT) was defeated by Communists during the Chinese Civil War. The KMT retreated to Taiwan and the jurisdiction of the Republic of China was limited to Taiwan while the Communist Party founded the People’s Republic of China in mainland China. 1709 1875 1894 1895 1945 1960 1990 2007 Han Chinese began to In 1875, the northern Taipei remained a tem- As settlement for los- Upon the Japanese de- Taipei was the capital In the following year, On September 30, 2007, settle in the Taipei Ba- part of Taiwan was porary provincial capital ing the Sino-Japanese feat in the Pacific War of Taiwan Province un- Taipei City expanded the ruling Democratic sin in 1709. separated from Taiwan before it officially be- War, China ceded the and its consequent sur- til the 1960s when the again by annexing Shilin, Progressive Party ap- Prefecture and incorpo- came the capital of Tai- entire island of Taiwan render in August 1945, provincial administration Beitou, Neihu, Nangang, proved a resolution as- rated into the new Tai- wan in 1894.
    [Show full text]
  • Issue Orientation, Party System and Strategic Interaction from Two Cases1
    Policy Outcomes of Social Movements in Taiwan: Issue Orientation, Party System and Strategic Interaction from Two Cases1 Huang-ting Yan2 Abstract Some social movements have reformed public policies or established the mode of participatory democracy while others had limited success in terms of intended results. Although resource mobilization theory has been offered to explain impacts of social movements, the application in Taiwan is restricted. Therefore, how to find out key factors, which can differentiate policy outcomes of social movements, is the problematic in the article. Political context, which interacts with social environment, is vital to develop precise casual mechanisms underlying the theoretical framework. First of all, issue orientation that movement actors adopt can be divided into concurrent issues, consisting of supra-partisan, cross-sectors and generalized expectation, and polarized issues, which are defined as linkage to parties, centered on particular sectors and conflicting values. Secondly, due to votes-maximization strategy, governing parties must be alerted to concurrent issues, which represent far-reaching resentments from populations while they take indifferent attitude toward polarized issues, which symbolize angers only from oppositions. Therefore, issue orientation results in different impacts on social movements. Finally, the strategic interaction between government and opposition in policy making, which is affected by party systems, determines policy outcomes of social movements. Polarized issues should be successfully articulated under coalition government, divided government or consensus democracy because more “veto players” participates in the policy-negotiating and formulation phase. In order to test some hypotheses derived from the theoretical framework, the article compares two social movements, the “Whiteshirts Movement” and the 1 This is a draft, which mainly compares two social movements in Taiwan.
    [Show full text]
  • The Indigenous World 2018
    THE INDIGENOUS WORLD THE INDIGENOUS WORLD 2018 Copenhagen THE INDIGENOUS WORLD 2018 Compilation and editing: Pamela Jacquelin-Andersen Regional editors: Arctic and North America: Kathrin Wessendorf Mexico, Central and South America: Alejandro Parellada Australia and the Pacific: Diana Vinding Asia: Signe Leth The Middle East: Diana Vinding Africa: Marianne Wiben Jensen and Geneviève Rose International Processes: Lola García-Alix and Kathrin Wessendorf Cover and typesetting: Spine Studio Maps and layout: Neus Casanova Vico English translation: Elaine Bolton, Rebecca Knight and Madeline Newman Ríos Proofreading: Elaine Bolton Prepress and Print: Eks-Skolens Trykkeri, Copenhagen, Denmark Cover photographies: Pablo Toranzo/Andhes, Christian Erni, Delphine Blast, Nelly Tokmagasheva and Thomas Skielboe HURIDOCS CIP DATA © The authors and The International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs Title: The Indigenous World 2018 (IWGIA), 2018 All Rights Reserved Edited by: Pamela Jacquelin-Andersen Pages: 640 ISSN: 1024-0217 The reproduction and distribution of information con- ISBN: 978-87-92786-85-2 tained in The Indigenous World is welcome as long as the source is cited. However, the translation of articles Language: English into other languages and the of the whole BOOK is not Index: 1. Indigenous Peoples – 2. Yearbook – 3. allowed without the consent of IWGIA. The articles in The Indigenous World are pro- International Processes duced on a voluntary basis. It is IWGIA’s intention that BISAC codes: LAW110000 Indigenous Peoples The Indigenous World should provide a comprehensive update on the situation of indigenous peoples world- REF027000 Yearbooks & Annuals POL035010 wide but, unfortunately, it is not always possible to find Political Freedom & Security / Human Rights authors to cover all relevant countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Extensions to Audience Cost Theory and the Roles of Old and New Media in the Channeling of Street Protests by East Asian Governments
    Extensions to Audience Cost Theory and the Roles of Old and New Media in the Channeling of Street Protests by East Asian Governments Draft prepared for the 2016 ISA Asia-Pacific Conference Joshua Cader The University of Tokyo In reporting street protests, traditional media retains its central role in framing narratives of competent government power in contrast to newer media closer to the movements. Using theories of “audience costs” – originally positing that democratic regimes face domestic penalties for going back on their word internationally, making them more formidable negotiating partners – I argue that media structure rather than regime type determines government ability to make use of protests, with a common semi-free structure composed of chaotic new media rubbing up against regime compliant old media making for similar effects. This study first looks at the 2012 China anti-Japanese demonstrations: several days of chaos followed by an propaganda ministry-enforced anti-Japanese boycott protest theme as seen through microblog keyword blocks. Further synergistic contention between stories on new media serving as call to action and later channelling in print is shown by not only the similar autocratic example of the 2014 Vietnam anti-Chinese protests but also democratic Taiwan's Sunflower Movement. In Taiwan, however, media fragmentation has loosened the grip of such channeling, and this combined with idiosyncratic social factors will lead to this type of control becoming increasingly difficult. Audience Costs Theories of audience costs, which originally posited that democratic regimes would face a domestic penalty for going back on their word in international negotiations, and thus, as this would be understood by counterparts, would make them more formidable negotiating partners (Fearon, 1994), have been extended beyond their original remit in recent years.
    [Show full text]
  • Taiwan's Indigenized Constitution: What Place for Aboriginal Formosa?
    Taiwan’s Indigenized Constitution: What Place for Aboriginal Formosa? Scott Simon, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Sociology University of Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario, Canada E-mail: [email protected] Paper presented at the 2nd Conference of the European Association of Taiwan Studies, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, Germany, 1-2 April 2005. Working Draft: Please do not cite or quote without the written permission of the author. Taiwan’s Indigenized Constitution: What Place for Aboriginal Formosa? Abstract: Since the beginning of President Chen Shui-bian’s second term in 2004, there has been great controversy about plans to rewrite or revise the national constitution and what that new constitution should include. Although it is largely seen as a declaration of Taiwanese sovereignty, one important area of constitutional reform concerns human rights for the 450,000 Aboriginal people of Austronesian descent on the island and their communities. In the summer of 2004, a series of public consultations were held at the Indigenous Peoples Council in Taipei to debate how indigenous rights should be incorporated into the new constitution. After a long process of debate in Taiwan as well as studies of similar cases in Canada, Latin America, New Zealand and elsewhere, a series of clauses on indigenous rights were drafted and submitted for deliberation at higher levels. These included demands on such issues as return of traditional lands, regional autonomy, and increased representation in the central government. This paper, based on participation in those consultations, analysis of other policy documents, and a community study with the Truku (formerly Atayal) tribe, looks at the meaning of these political changes for aboriginal Formosa.
    [Show full text]
  • Island of Memories Postcolonial Historiography and Public Discourse in Contemporary Taiwan
    Island of Memories Postcolonial Historiography and Public Discourse in Contemporary Taiwan Lung-chih Chang HCM ２ (３): ２２９–２４４ DOI: １０.１8352/hcm.471 Abstract The re-discovery of Taiwanese history along with both official and local initiatives of cultural heritage and public commemorations constitutes an important postcolonial cultural phenomenon. This paper discusses the “memory boom” in post-martial law Taiwan and examines its implications in our understanding of history, culture, and modernity in East Asian context. The major arguments of this paper can be summarised in three parts. The first section introduces the emergence of new academic and public discourses in Taiwan in the post-martial law era. The second and main section offers four major examples of postcolonial historiography and public discourse including national commemoration, ethnic revival, the heritage movement and Taiwa- nese wartime experience. The final section further illustrates the features of Taiwan’s postcolonial historiography in terms of history and memory with topical discussions on the rethinking of the modernity question and the reinterpretation of Japanese colonial heritage. Keywords: Taiwanese historiography, public history, memory, heritage, identity Introduction For a first-time visitor to Taiwan, an alternative to the must-see Taipei 101 tower or the trendy National Palace Museum is the nostalgic 228 Peace Memorial Park. The park is located in downtown Taipei right beside the ROC presidential palace, formerly the Japanese Taiwan Government-Gen- eral Building. Founded as Taipei New Park in 1908 by the Japanese, the park was renamed as 228 Peace Memorial Park in 1996 by the then city VOL. 2, NO. 3, 2014 229 © LUNG-CHIH CHANG, 2014 | DOI: 10.18352/hcm.471 Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 10:58:24AM This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.
    [Show full text]