Former residence of the late lawyer Thng Tik-tsiong (湯德章, 1907-1947), a victim killed in the February 28 incident in 1947, has been converted into a memorial house, and the Thng Tik-tsiong Memorial Hall was officially opened on March 13.
On March 29, Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te, accompanied by Huang Chien-lung (黃建龍), chairman of the Tainan Thng Tik-tsiong Memorial Association, association's standing supervisor Lin Jing-lin (林璟璘) and secretary-general Wang Ji-fang (王姬方), President of the Tainan Cultural Property Association Zeng Guo-dong (曾國棟), President of Tainan Historical and Cultural Association Lian Feng-yan (連風彥), Li Wen-xiong (李文雄), one of the initiators of the memorial house project, human rights activist Ho Kung-mei (何康美), division chief at the Bureau of Cultural Heritage (BOCH) Zhang You-chuang (張祐創), and National Human Rights Museum (NHRM) Director Chen Chun-hung (陳俊宏), visited the memorial house.
Attorney Thng Tik-tsiong (湯德章) devoted his life to the protection of human rights. After the 228 incident in 1947, he was arrested, and on March 13 that year, he was executed in public at Tainan's Min Sheng Green Park.
Some citizens in Tainan initiated a fundraising in 2020 to purchase the former residence of Thng, and they formed the Tainan Thng Tik-tsiong Memorial Association for the preservation of Thng's legacy. Through their efforts, Thng's former residence was transformed into a memorial house, with memorial collection of photos and objects of Thng on display.
Huang Jian-long (黃建龍), chairman of the Tainan Thng Tik-tsiong Memorial Association, said that as a venue to demonstrate humanitarian spirit, the memorial house, with more comprehensive planning, can become an important place to promote historical memory, democracy, and human rights education.
Stressing the admirable efforts of the private sector in preserving Thng's former residence, Culture Minister Lee Yung-te pointed out that the Ministry of Culture will not only provide budget support, but also coordinate with related government agencies to clarify the status of the memorial house as a "registered historical building" in line with the "Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法)."
Lee emphasized that since its inauguration in 2018, the National Human Rights Museum (NHRM), in addition to presenting human rights related exhibitions, has dedicated to promoting human rights education and collaborating with human rights organizations at home and abroad. NHRM has coordinated with local memorial houses, such as the One Iok-tek Memorial Museum (臺南市王育德紀念館) and the Yeh Shih-tao Literature Memorial Hall (葉石濤文學紀念館) in Tainan, to promote human rights education.
Lee indicated that in the future, the MOC will follow the model of cooperation between the NHRM and smaller exhibition houses in promoting substantial exchanges and cooperation in relation to exhibitions and educational activities between Thng Tik-tsiong Memorial Hall and the NHRM.
Lee also invited the Thng Tik-tsiong Memorial Hall to join the Federation of International Human Rights Museum – Asia Pacific (FIHRM-AP), the Chinese Association of Museums (CAM), National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Committee for Museum Exhibition, to foster information sharing with other museums and contribute to the promotion of human rights in Taiwan as well as international community.