L3S

Go

Taipei · half a day to a day

Taipei: two rooms where free speech was fought for

Two metro stops, two rooms, one silence

A residential and office block in a lane off Minquan East Road, its upper floor carrying the Nylon Cheng Foundation and memorial museum signs.

Photograph by MiNe, 2009. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Openly licensedCC BY 2.0View source

Why this order

This route puts free speech back at two street addresses: a Japanese-era police station and an editorial office preserved after the 1989 fire. Together they show how the state restricted political thought, and how people fought back.

  1. Stop 1

    Taiwan New Cultural Movement Memorial Museum

    Start in the colonial police station, where you can see how order was built before you see what it cost. Free, and open early.

    Tuesday–Sunday 09:30–17:30; closed Monday; free admission

    Walk from Daqiaotou, Minquan West Road, or Shuanglian MRT

  2. Stop 2

    Nylon Cheng Foundation and Memorial Museum

    Then the third floor on Minquan East Road, where the office was left as it was. Saturdays only, and you must reserve.

    Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Free admission; reserve online before visiting

    Zhongshan Junior High School MRT, then a third-floor walk-up

  3. Stop 3

    Huashan 1914

    If you want a third thing and some food, Huashan is ten minutes from Shandao Temple, with Yvonne Chen's Time to Wander currently up.

    Park and event hours vary; Time to Wander is daily 11:00–19:00

    About a 10-minute walk from Shandao Temple MRT