National Taiwan University has added a new monument to its memorial plaza honoring martial law-era dissident Chen Wen-chen. The plaza was unveiled in February of this year. However, on Tuesday the university added a concrete monument bearing the text "Remember a brave individual who stood up against national violence".
Chen was a critic of the KMT political party during the period when it ruled Taiwan under martial law. He left Taiwan during the 1970's to pursue higher education in the US, and he later became an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University.
In 1981, during Chen's first trip back to Taiwan, the government's secret police detained and interrogated him. His body was found the next day on National Taiwan University's campus. It is still unclear exactly what transpired before Chen's death, but it is widely accepted that he was killed for opposing the KMT.
The National Taiwan University Student Union says it's thankful that the school has taken a clear and firm stance against the authoritarian violence that occurred on its campus. It says it hopes the school will continue to oppose political injustice and accept its responsibility of depicting an accurate account of history.
The student union says that the new monument was visible when the memorial was presented in February, but at the time, it was only a temporary detail. In June, student representatives proposed permanently adding the commemorative text to the plaza. The students have also suggested adding a more lengthy explanation of Chen and his significance, a plan that is still in progress.