Taiwan Church News
3397 Edition
3 – 9 April, 2017
Topical News
Taiwan’s Freedom Of Expression Day Launched On 7 April 2017
Reported by Chiu Kuo-rong
Before her sworn into the presidential office, the president-elect Tsai Ing-wen had already promised to the public that annual April 7th would be established as the Freedom of Expression Day to commemorate the first self-immolated martyr – Mr Cheng Nan-jung – for freedom of expression.
Taiwan’s Executive Yuan also passed an proposal to fulfill President Tsai’s promise in the end of last year, via setting up annual April 7 from 2017 as the Freedom of Expression Day and asking the related government ministries to inform the public what the freedom of expression means to Taiwan society and her vibrant democracy.
To let the Taiwanese people learn more about how the freedom of speech was delivered in Taiwan’s tumultuous modern history, the Ministry of the Interior held a cross-ministrial official seminar, entitled “The Development and Challenge of the Freedom of Expression in Taiwan”, inviting historians and legal scholars to convene and discuss this critical issue at the law school of National Taiwan University on April 7.
At the level of local government, especially in the Lo-tong township of I-lan County, the hometown of Cheng Nan-jung , a series of activities, including two lectures, a NGO workshop, a multi-language glove puppet show, a 6-bands pop music concert and a innovative market, were held to celebrate the freedom of speech officially launched
in Taiwan.
Translated by Peter Wolfe
