Life

Photo exhibit marks anniversary of martial law end in Taiwan

• Publication Date：07/13/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  June Tsai

A photography exhibition on human rights will open at National 228 Memorial Museum July 14 to mark the 25th anniversary of the lifting of martial law in Taiwan.

“Witness to Silence” depicts human rights violations in various regions and cultures, featuring 17 photographers from mainland China, Denmark, Hong Kong, India, Serbia, South Korea, Taiwan and the U.S., according to exhibit curator Leon Tsai.

“Although we are inundated with images in this high-tech age, documentary photography stands out for being able to make people feel the pulse of historic events,” Tsai said at a news conference July 12.

“We expect the show to shed light on Taiwan’s movements for political and social justice from the broader perspective of human rights around the world,” he said.

When martial law rule was rescinded July 15, 1987, activists were just beginning to demand rectification for the February 28 Incident of 1947, when thousands of people were killed following islandwide rebellion against the government because of rampant corruption, expropriation of property, inflation and commodity shortages. Human rights have since become an important value for the country on its way toward consolidation of democracy.

“An exhibit like this, at this time, can help us re-examine how far we have come,” Tsai said.

Of particular note is the photographic series titled “Ugly Doll,” by Liu Xia, wife of 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, who is serving an 11-year sentence for subversion after publishing a document calling for the implementation of constitutional democracy in mainland China.

Accompanying the exhibition, which runs till Oct. 28, are documentaries and forums on human rights conditions in Asian countries. (THN)