Taipei: A cross-campus initiative linked to the 2026 White Terror Memorial Film Festival was launched Monday and is aimed at bringing screenings and discussions to schools across Taiwan to deepen public engagement with the country's authoritarian past.
According to Focus Taiwan, the initiative is co-organized by the Modern Culture Foundation and the New Taiwan Peace Foundation. It seeks to link universities and other educational institutions through independently organized screenings, allowing campuses to curate and host their own events. So far, student councils from more than 50 universities have joined the effort.
At a press conference in Taipei on Monday, organizers stated that the move builds on the festival's 2024 edition but shifts its focus toward a decentralized, grassroots model to overcome the limited impact of centralized screenings. Chen Chun-hung, a political science professor at Soochow University, emphasized that film can serve as a powerful medium for transitional justice by fostering dialogue and empathy. He highlighted that cinema can expand moral imagination and invite society to reflect on difficult histories, specifically referring to the White Terror period.
The White Terror period refers to a decades-long era of political repression under martial law in Taiwan, starting in 1949 and lasting until 1992. During this period, tens of thousands of people were imprisoned, executed, or otherwise persecuted for alleged political dissent. The initiative emphasizes a bottom-up approach, allowing local organizers to take the lead in curating programs.
Documentary director Kevin Lee called for greater government support, including the creation of a publicly accessible database of films on the White Terror. He noted that copyright and administrative barriers often hinder campus screenings. Meanwhile, student representative Cheng Yu-lun of the National Students' Union of Taiwan said the initiative would help bring historical memories back onto campuses, emphasizing that memory is not a burden, but forgetting is.
The program will include a diverse lineup of films and encourage post-screening discussions, with plans to extend participation beyond universities to high schools and community venues, according to the organizers.