Freedom is hard won and must be cherished!
The play mainly describes the martial law period in Taiwan in 1970. The protagonist was imprisoned for participating in the Formosa Magazine Parade on December 10, 1979.
When Taiwan was free, the defeated Kuomintang government retreated to Taiwan. In order to purge and suppress the local will and make everyone obedient like slaves, it promulgated the "Martial Law Order of Taiwan Province", declaring that from May 20, 1949, all of Taiwan would be under martial law. Martial law was implemented in the territory.
On May 24 of the same year, the "Regulations on Punishing Rebellion" was passed on the third reading by the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China, which was implemented to deal with the special situation of the Communist Party of China's rebellion.
In fact, this "special criminal law" has resulted in many unjust, false and wrongful convictions, eradicated dissidents, consolidated the leadership center of authoritarianism, purged and persecuted those who criticized or opposed the government and dissidents (such as advocating Taiwan independence, etc.), and arbitrarily Charged with intent to subvert the regime and excessively expand the scope of punishment, it is similar to the current Chinese Communist regime's approach.
The Taiwan Police Headquarters and other intelligence units use special criminal laws to serve as a tool for the government to purge dissidents. They disregard basic human rights, democracy, freedoms, etc., monitor the people pervasively, fabricate false cases, and detain people with suspicious behavior or dissidents. The hat of a gangster spy.
Indiscriminate arrests, killings, torture, beatings, and property confiscation across the country have resulted in a large number of unjust deaths, unjust imprisonments, and disabilities, and serious damage to people's lives, property, health, and spirituality.
Article 14 of the "Regulations on Prosecuting Banditry and Espionage During the Rebellion Period" stipulates that for property confiscated due to banditry and espionage cases, the personnel responsible for it will receive a 35% bonus. Their material rewards also contributed to the occurrence of unjust, wrong, and false cases at that time. No stopping.
It was not until 1991 that the late President Lee Teng-hui abolished the "Rebellion Punishment Ordinance" and in 1992 he amended Article 100 of the Criminal Law of the Republic of China, ending the legal basis for the crime of speech rebellion. In a sense, it could be regarded as For the real end of the White Terror in Taiwan.
The free Taiwan you live in has actually experienced the tragic White Terror period for more than 40 years!
Later, one of the demands for transformational justice that was often heard was that through the presentation of the truth and history, we could trace back to the police chief who destroyed a large number of files on unjust cases that were difficult to investigate due to the whistleblowing bonus system when he was abolished.
I still remember that when I returned to China as a child, I also experienced this series of white terror periods. Although I was not sensible when I was a child, I was told not to talk nonsense outside. I was so young at that time, who would know what chaos was. Speak!
What struck me most and left the deepest impression at that time was probably the "Speak Mandarin Movement". Elementary school teachers said that if the language is not unified, it will affect national unity, and speaking Mandarin is patriotic and other slogans.
In schools and other public places, speaking dialects is strictly prohibited, and students report each other. There is a penalty of "speak a dialect, you will be fined ten yuan", which is used to suppress Taiwan's local language.
For people who were around the same time as me, that inexplicable sport should be unforgettable in this life. I don’t know which bastard reported it, but I was fined 20 yuan and even beaten!
There was another unforgettable scene, which was the news of Chiang Ching-kuo’s death. I was playing video games outside, and the store’s TV was playing this earth-shattering news. Along with the grand funeral convoy, a lot of people on both sides were kneeling and crying. I cried. I was only eight years old at the time. I saw the store owner burst into tears and felt inexplicable!
There was also Chen Banxian at that time. As far as I can remember, he was actually very active. He participated in many non-party movements. Every time I watched the TV showing scenes of police beating people, I couldn't help but wonder if one day he would I saw Chen Banxian above, being beaten by the police!
There were really a lot of weird and bizarre incidents back then. If you are not of the same generation, it would be really hard to understand that feeling. I can only say that the freedom you have in Taiwan now is actually nothing more than the fact that someone has already shouldered the burden for you. OK.
Fan Zhongyan, a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty, said: "You die in peace with your voice, but you live in silence."
The ancients all understood the importance of freedom. Nowadays, we enjoy a high degree of freedom, but how can we want to return to the lack of freedom in the past just for the temporary temptation of money.
Or do you think that as long as you have money, everything will be fine? Money is the most important thing! The freedom of yourself and others is no longer important!
Throughout Taiwan's history, the road to reform has never stopped. Overcoming thorns and paving the way along the way is by no means a single event, but the investment and accumulation of different people's lives from generation to generation.
The Salt Water Hotel does not refer to the place name, but because political prisoners in prison used "water mixed with salt" to survive, so they jokingly called the prison "The Salt Water Hotel"!
This is a series that tells the story of the White Terror and the Beautiful Island incident. The play is mixed with pure youthful love. When you are like a fool and want to change an unfair society, do you pay attention to others, just to think about it? The servility to live.
Different time and background, when you look back at it now, it creates an absurd feeling, and it is worth reflecting on. Now that we are in a free and democratic Taiwan, what do you want?
Do you dare to eat rice mixed with salt water? A bowl of rice, stirred with salt water, welcome to the "Salt Water Hotel"!
Being a fool is actually a very brave thing!
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