Abstract
In Chiang Kai-shek’s early governance of Taiwan, many political events occurred which violated human rights. During this ‘White Terror’ era, military commanders were authorized with powers to restrict the islanders’ freedom, as well as prohibit public assemblies. Taiwanese who acted against the martial law would be committing offences of public order, or even offences of treason. The Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park was once the place where such political victims were held in custody and imprisoned. Until the lift of martial law, these inhuman events were not revealed to the public, and the two courts, the Ren-Ai Building (仁愛樓, the detention centers), barracks and other public buildings on the site recently have been transformed into parts of the National Human Rights Museum, Taiwan. As many political persecutions occurred and were implemented in the two courts and previous jails of the detention centers, the transformation of the site into a memorial park suggests the site-specificity of memory recollection through exhibiting the built environments, historical archives, and victims’ leftovers. This paper intends to discuss the construction of spatial narrations and the means of patching up fragmented memories of these political events, as well as examining the exhibition settings for stimulating visitors’ perceptions of the victims’ sufferings. Finally, as young generations in Taiwan didn’t experience such political oppressions, the paper would ask what sort of immersive channels could be utilized to recall the imprisoned memories and to forge some sufferers’ traumatic experiences for visitors.
Published Version
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