Artist Chen Miao-ting, left, presents Taiwan independence advocate Su Beng with a portrait of himself at an official book signing of Su’s Modern History of Taiwanese in 400 Years in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

Hundreds of people crowded the small auditorium at National Taiwan University’s Alumni Center in Taipei yesterday to celebrate the release of a updated Chinese version of the Taiwan independence advocate Su Beng’s (史明) 1962 book Taiwan’s 400-Year History.

Once banned by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime during the Martial Law era, the book was considered a pioneer attempt to recount the nation’s history since the arrival of first wave of Han Chinese settlers, including a few chapters discussing Aboriginal society prior to Han Chinese settlement.