TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — More than 100 White Terror survivors and family members visited Green Island from Saturday to Monday to honor former political prisoners and share their memories with younger generations.
The White Terror refers to a period of state repression in Taiwan that began after the 1947 crackdown and intensified after the KMT government retreated to Taiwan in 1949, including political arrests, executions, imprisonment, and surveillance of civilians and dissidents.
The National Human Rights Museum organized the event to mark May 17, 1951, when the first large group of political prisoners was sent to the New Life Correction Center on Green Island. The island later became a major White Terror prison site, and Oasis Villa prison was built there in 1972.
The museum said Green Island carries the suffering of many people and remains an important site in Taiwan’s human rights history. It said revisiting the island helps survivors, families, and the public better understand how political repression affected real lives.
On the first day, participants arrived after a rough boat trip and later watched the documentary “And Miles to Go Before I Sleep” at Green Island Human Rights Park. The film tells the story of Vietnamese migrant worker Nguyen Quoc Phi, who died in 2017 after police shot him several times and medical treatment was delayed.
Speaking with the audience after the screening, Director Tsai Chung-lung (蔡崇隆) said Taiwan’s White Terror history should encourage deeper reflection on human rights, state power, and the treatment of vulnerable people. The discussion covered policing, law enforcement training, drug-related cases, and migrant workers’ rights, linking the film’s message to Taiwan’s history of political persecution.
On Sunday morning, National Human Rights Museum Director Hung Shih-fang (洪世芳) led survivors and family members to lay flowers at the “13th Squadron” cemetery, where political prisoners who died on Green Island were buried if their bodies were not claimed by family. Former prisoners gave the cemetery its name to honor those who died far from home and preserve their shared memory, CNA reported.
After the memorial ceremony, participants joined activities and toured Green Island Human Rights Park. Guides explained the history and layout of the former prison site, including the New Life Correction Center.
National Dong Hwa University history professor Chen Chin-chin (陳進金) later gave a lecture on Green Island’s history of political imprisonment. During the talk, survivors described their work, daily life, and hardships in detention.
In the afternoon, the group visited the Human Rights Monument and Zhongliao Fishing Port. The visit recalled the route taken by the first prisoners who landed on Green Island in 1951 after three days at sea.
The museum said the path from the port to the prison was a painful part of prisoners’ memories. Many arrived under the hot sun, carrying heavy loads and facing an unknown future in detention.
The museum said preserving sites of injustice and recording survivors’ testimony are central to its work. It said the event helped families better understand the suffering of their parents and elders, while turning painful history into support for human rights and transitional justice.
