Commemorating the passing of Tsai Kuan-yu (蔡寬裕), a noted human rights defender who died on Sept. 5 at the age of 92, the National Human Rights Museum (NHRM) held a memorial ceremony on Nov. 9 at the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park in Taipei. Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君), representing President Lai Ching-te, presented a posthumous certificate of commendation to Tsai, accepted by his son Tsai Heng-i (蔡恆毅) and daughters Tsai I-tsen (蔡宜岑) and Tsai I-lun (蔡宜倫).
Born on Feb. 5, 1933, in Taipei, Tsai was arrested twice for his involvement in the Liu Ziran incident (劉自然事件, also known as the May 24 incident) and Taiwan independence movements in the 1960s, being imprisoned for over a decade.
After the lifting of martial law in 1987, Tsai advocated for the rights of political victims and founded an association to unite like-minded individuals, becoming the driving force behind the establishment of the NHRM, which was officially open in 2018.
Culture Minister Li Yuan highlighted that “telling the truth” was Tsai’s lifelong mission and affirmed that the Ministry of Culture would continue to advance transitional justice in Taiwan, including the transformation of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the passing of the Sites of Injustice Preservation Act.