TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Nylon Cheng Liberty Foundation on Thursday (April 7) held the first of a series of activities labeled “Freedom/Life" to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of Nylon Cheng’s self-immolation.

The Thursday event featured musical performances and invited Puma Shen (沈伯洋), chairman of the Doublethink Lab, as a guest speaker. In his speech, Shen discussed the challenges of cognitive warfare and freedom of speech.

While Taiwan’s democratic predecessors fought for freedom of speech, modern society is facing a different dilemma, namely different perceptions of reality due to social media algorithms. “We see the world that technology companies are willing to show us,” Shen said, adding that this is causing Taiwan's society to become increasingly confrontational.

Shen also mentioned that those who attempt to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty while claiming freedom of speech do not actually fall under the umbrella of freedom of speech. In this regard, Shen said Taiwan’s laws are lacking.

Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊), Cultural Minister Lee Yung-te (李永得), 228 Memorial Foundation chairman Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), Presidential Office senior advisor Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), I-Mei Foods General Manager Luis Ko (高志明), and the families of White Terror victims attended the event.

Further planned activities will be held on April 23, May 14, May 19, and June 11, with the final event taking place sometime in July.