“If you’re asked for the way to the police station, you’ll be thrown in jail” — the Green Island Human Rights Art Festival revisits historical traces

▲ Green Island Human Rights Cultural Park is now a tourist area, but the pain of the past still lingers within its historical traces. (Photo / Reporter Chen Ziyin)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

The Green Island National Human Rights Museum commemorated the day the first group of political prisoners were sent to serve their sentences on the island by inviting relevant individuals to return to the Green Island Human Rights Cultural Park and organizing a series of activities to revisit this history.

May 17, 1951, was the day the first group of political prisoners were sent to Green Island to serve their sentences. The National Human Rights Museum, under the Ministry of Culture, specially invited political victims and their families to return to the Green Island Human Rights Cultural Park. A series of related activities were held to commemorate this history. On the 12th, the museum also held a press conference for the “2014 Green Island Human Rights Art Festival” at the Jingmei Human Rights Cultural Park of the National Human Rights Museum Preparatory Office, where victims and families of those who suffered political persecution were invited to speak.

Among them, Cai [name obscured], a victim who suffered persecution during the White Terror of the 1950s, shared his story in person, detailing the painful experiences of that time. Cai said that at just 19 years old, he was a junior clerk at the town office. One Sunday, while working overtime at the office, a stranger asked him for directions to the police station. Out of kindness, he led the stranger to the police station, only to unknowingly walk straight into a trap and end up imprisoned in a dark cell. Cai explained that back in high school, he had joined a reading club, and members of the group were arrested for distributing leaflets containing what were considered inflammatory ideas, which led to his being implicated.

Cai said that, due to baseless charges, he was subjected to severe torture and imprisoned in a lightless jail. That painful memory has never left him, but the experience transformed him from a weak, introverted boy into a strong, independent man. Since then, he has traveled widely to give speeches and advocate for human rights. The “2014 Green Island Human Rights Art Festival” will feature a series of activities starting on the 16th. The organizers hope these events will help commemorate this history. (Source: Central News Agency)