We are home in history: remembrance through love, resistance through memory

Program

13:30-14:00 Opening Ceremony
14:00-15:00 Online Keynote Speech: May-Sing Yang (former ambassador at large) 楊黃美幸(陳文成紀念基金會董事長; 彭明敏基金會董事長; 亞太自由婦女協會創辦人) 
15:00-17:00 Film Screening: "A Letter to Grandmother" (with English and Chinese subtitles)
17:00-18:00 Q&A with Director
18:00-18:30 Closing Ceremony

About the Event

2025 marks the 80th anniversary of World War II's end. For Taiwan, liberation from Japanese imperial rule was immediately followed by the KMT government's takeover. Amid the turbulent tides of history, the February 28 Incident of 1947 tore countless families apart, while the 43 years of martial law that began in 1948 left deep wounds on Taiwan’s land—wounds that remain difficult to heal.

Taiwanese Australians come from diverse generations and backgrounds, each with their own journey to this land. For many second- and third-generation Taiwanese Australians, these historical events may feel distant. Yet for those who maintain close ties to Taiwan through family and community, the memories of the White Terror remain vivid, resurfacing in ongoing discussions about historical accountability and reconciliation.

Reckoning with history is not just about remembrance—it is about charting a path forward. Just as Australia Day compels reflection on the injustices faced by Indigenous Australians, Taiwan’s confrontation with its White Terror past is a necessary and ongoing process, central to its civic awakening. By looking back with gratitude and refusing to forget, we honour the resilience of those who came before us and strengthen our resolve to resist authoritarianism in our time.

Let us listen together to stories that have never been told, feel the longing that transcends time and space, and seek out the historical imprints that connect us. For it is only through memory that we can find our way home.

活動緣起

2025年，距離二戰結束已經80個寒暑。當年，台灣在脫離日本帝國統治後，隨即迎來了國民政府的接收。在動盪的時代洪流中，1947年的二二八事件撕裂了無數家庭，1948年開始的43年戒嚴，更在台灣的土地上留下了難以撫平的傷痕。

在這片澳洲的土地上，有著不同世代的台灣人。有人帶著追求自由的渴望遠渡重洋，有人為了築夢而來到這片大地。對於在澳洲出生、成長的台裔第二代、第三代而言，那些歷史或許顯得遙遠而模糊。然而，對於至今仍與台灣保持緊密連結的移民來說，白色恐怖的記憶依然鮮明，時常在家族的故事中浮現，在時事的討論中迴盪。

面對歷史，我們選擇以愛緬懷，用溫柔撫平傷痕。就像澳洲日讓我們反思對澳洲原住民的虧欠，追憶台灣的白色恐怖，是一段漫長而必要的集體之旅。唯有正視過往，才能療癒現在；唯有拒絕遺忘，我們才能找到面對未來抵抗霸權的力量。

在這個午後，讓我們一起聆聽那些未曾訴說的故事，一起感受跨越時空的思念，一起找尋屬於我們的歷史印記。因為唯有在歷史追憶中，我們才能找到回家的路。