臺灣文學虛擬博物館

With the lifting of martial law, people have continued to fight against unjust laws. The term "book banning" became obsolete. Now, people can finally write freely and speak freely.

Nobody has to be interrogated or criminally convicted like Yeh Shih-tao. Unlike LONG AN LITERATURE, publications that are already printed do not have to be destroyed due to involvement in political incidents. Books written in Japanese or Pe̍h-ōe-jī (Church Romanization) have returned to libraries for exhibitions or are sold at bookstores. Some of them have even become important artifacts and are collected by museums.

It may seem that book banning has not had much significant impact on literature?

But from the implementation of martial law in 1949 to the abolition of the Publishing Act in 1999, half a century of censorship took place. In our current democratic society, is censorship now just a remnant of the past which people ponder upon?

No, sometimes not knowing our losses has a greater impact on us. If nobody had dared to preserve the knowledge that was banned, it might have been forgotten along with history. If we had not known what we had lost, we would not have been able to protect valuable things.

To understand the history of book banning, we must "lift the bans" and liberate our minds so that we can pass on the experiences from the past. We must constantly remind ourselves and never make the same mistake.

◰ LITERATURE LOCKDOWN Board Game
Produced by the National Museum of Taiwan Literature, LITERATURE LOCKDOWN is an educational board game that uses the literary scene during the White Terror (1949-1992) as the theme. The game combines the history of Taiwanese Literature and cards, allowing players to learn about the well-known authors during various periods and their works; it also introduces books that were banned at that time. The game helps players to gain a deeper understanding of the historical background of the White Terror and its impact on society.（Kept in National Museum of Taiwan Literature）

◰ Trailer of DETENTION
DETENTION was adapted from an online game of the same name. Taking place in a school during the White Terror in Taiwan, the story describes a group of teachers and students secretly organizing a book club, leading to persecution by the authority. The large amount of books that frequently appear in the film are those that were banned during the martial law period for being harmful to the public mind.
Release Year: 2019; Director: John Hsu; Production Company: 1 Production Film Co.; Distributed by Warner Bros. Taiwan.