DPP screens film honoring feminist Peng Wan-ru
By Ko Yu-hao and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday attended the screening of a film marking the 30th anniversary of the murder of prominent feminist and women’s rights activist Peng Wan-ru (彭婉如).
Peng became the first director of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of Women’s Affairs in 1996. On Nov. 30 that year, while in Kaohsiung for a party meeting, she disappeared after apparently taking a taxi. Her body was found several days later. Her murder remains unsolved.
The DPP’s Department of Gender Equality spent 18 months producing Dear Sisters (親愛的姊妹), a commemorative film about Peng and the history of women’s participation in politics.
President William Lai, center, leads a tribute to women’s rights activist Peng Wan-ru during a screening of a commemorative film about her in Kaohsiung yesterday.
Photo: Ge You-hao, Taipei Times
An 18-minute special edition was screened in Kaohsiung yesterday, with Lai, who is also DPP chairman, attending.
This year is also the 40th anniversary of the party’s founding and the 30th anniversary of the establishment of its women’s affairs department.
Lai said it was meaningful to gather to remember Peng, adding that the party has continued to pursue her vision of greater participation by women in politics.
“For me, Peng has never left us,” he said, adding that he keeps in mind Peng’s proposed “one-quarter quota” to guarantee women’s participation in politics.
The DPP and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) later adopted the provision, and the government passed the Sexual Assault Crime Prevention Act (性侵害犯罪防治法) and Domestic Violence Prevention Act (家庭暴力防治法), he said.
“The ideals proposed by Peng are what we have continued to work on,” Lai said.
For the film, the Department of Gender Equality interviewed women from different generations about their experiences in politics and public life.
Department of Gender Equality Director Li Yen-jung (李晏榕) said the film is not only a documentary, but also a story about women’s participation in politics, democracy and the continuation of that legacy.
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