Hsu Hsueh-chi

Hsu Hsueh-chi
許雪姬
Director of the Institute of Taiwan History [zh], Academia Sinica
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 September 2017
Preceded by	Hsieh Kuo-hsing
In office 1 September 2005 – 31 August 2011
Preceded by	Chuang Ying-chang
Succeeded by	Hsieh Kuo-hsing
Personal details
Born	1953 (age 71–72) Penghu County, Taiwan
Nationality	Republic of China
Education	National Taiwan University (PhD)

Hsu Hsueh-chi (Chinese: 許雪姬; born 1953) is a Taiwanese historian. She is a distinguished research fellow of the Academia Sinica and holds an adjunct professorship within National Taiwan Normal University's Graduate Institute of Taiwan History.[1][2]

Early life and education

A native of Penghu County, Hsu earned a doctorate in history from National Taiwan University. She specializes in the 228 incident of 1947 and ensuing White Terror period.[3][4] In 1991, the Executive Yuan convened a committee to investigate the 228 incident, and asked her to contribute.[5][6] Hsu provided oral histories to what became the Research Report on the 228 Incident.[7][8] Throughout her career, Hsu has asked for continued transparency regarding historical documents relating to the 228 incident.[9] She was invited to discuss an upcoming exhibition at the 228 Memorial Museum that eventually opened to visitors in 2011.[10]

Career

Hsu served as the director of Academia Sinica's Institute of Taiwan History [zh] from 2005 to 2011, and was reappointed in 2017.[11] While Hsu was director in 2011, the institute set up an exhibition titled "Her History in Taiwan," focusing on the role of women in Taiwan from 1795 to 1950.[12] In 2014, Hsu lent support to a petition against revisions to high school history textbooks backed by the Ministry of Education, stating of the Ma Ying-jeou presidential administration, "They just do whatever they want. Their intention and anxiety to incorporate Taiwan into China is easy to see."[13] The next year, she set up an exhibition titled "A Jail Beyond the Prison Walls" at Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park, focusing on women and their family members jailed or executed during the White Terror.[14] Hsu was nominated to serve on the Transitional Justice Commission in April 2018.[3][15] In materials written for review by the Legislative Yuan, she opined that the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall should remain standing to serve as a reminder of past authoritarianism, with its statue of Chiang Kai-shek moved to the Cihu Memorial Sculpture Park, suggesting an arts library or human rights museum in its place.[16] Hsu's nomination was approved in May 2018.[17][18]

Hsu's book The Compilation of Historical Data from the Secrecy Bureau on the 228 Incident, meant to "unveil the truth" about the uprising, has not yet been released.[19] Her completed work includes a biography of Chuang Shu-chi,[20] a book about the March 2 incident [zh] in Chiayi,[21] and the foreword to the 2015 edition of Lin Hsien-tang's Travel Writings from around the Globe.[22]

References

1. "Hsueh-chi Hsu". Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
2. "Hsu Hsueh-chi". National Taiwan Normal University. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
3. Hsu, Stacy (1 April 2018). "Six justice committee members named". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
4. Tseng, Wei-chen (15 April 2018). "Committee chairman to prioritize archive". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
5. "Local Scholars Take A Closer Look At Home". Free China Review. 1 March 1992. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
6. Chen, Fang-ming (27 February 2017). "Time for a new 228 Incident report". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
7. Tsao, Nadia (13 December 2011). "New study on 228 disputes mainstream history view". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
8. Shih, Hsiu-chuan (22 March 2012). "DPP criticizes academic's 228 Massacre study". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
9. Gerber, Abraham (28 February 2016). "Expert pleads for 228 Incident papers". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
10. Mo, Yan-chih (20 February 2011). "Taipei 228 exhibits spark controversy". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
11. "Introduction". Institute of Taiwan History, Academia Sinica. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
12. "Exhibition focuses on the changing roles of women". Taipei Times. 3 April 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
13. Wang, Chris (10 March 2014). "Historians petition over changes". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
14. "White Terror exhibition shares women's experiences". Taiwan Today. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
15. "Last committee members nominated". Taipei Times. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
16. Tseng, Wei-chen; Hsiao, Sherry (15 April 2018). "Justice committee views submitted". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
17. Lin, Sean (9 May 2018). "All transitional justice panel nominees OK'd". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
18. Chen Chun-hua; Fan Cheng-hsiang; Ku Chuan; Shih Hsiu-chuan; Evelyn Kao (8 May 2018). "Legislature approves nominees to transitional justice committee". Central News Agency. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
19. Lee, Hsin-fang; Chung, Jake (24 September 2016). "228 Massacre Anniversary: Foundation locked in power struggle". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
20. Han Cheung (3 February 2019). "Taiwan in Time: The 'godmother of cancer prevention'". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
21. Han Cheung (1 March 2020). "Taiwan in Time: Station of blood". Taipei Times. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
22. Han Cheung (9 December 2018). "Taiwan in Time: A political activist's journey to the West". Taipei Times. Retrieved 3 February 2019.