The National Human Rights Museum (NHRM) held a ceremony on Apr. 24 to unveil the updated name inscriptions on its human rights memorial monument. Minister of Culture Li Yuan, Deputy Minister of Culture Sue Wang (王時思), NHRM Director Hung Shih-fang (洪世芳), and political victims and their family members attended the event.
Some of victims and their families shared their trauma stories on the occasion, including Minister Li, who revealed that his late uncle was one of the victims during the White Terror period.
Minister Li noted that the Ministry of Culture has submitted the draft of the Site of Injustice Preservation Act to the Legislative Yuan, aiming to promote and foster deeper understanding of the White Terror period by first establishing historical sites pertaining to transitional justice while the Act is under review.
Established in 2015, the NHRM’s human rights memorial monument at the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park consists of bricks inscribed with the names of political victims from the White Terror era. In 2024, the NHRM expanded the list from 8,079 to 12,060 names as historical research progressed. Additionally, the museum introduced a search system at the site to help locate names and highlight the life stories of the individuals through six themes: person, event, location, artifact, historical materials, and oral records.
The NHRM stated that the memorial honors both known and unknown political victims of the authoritarian era, and underscores its commitment to safeguarding Taiwan’s human rights, democracy, justice, liberty, and peace by ensuring history is not repeated.