By RK Shih / Staff
KAOHSIUNG — It didn’t make many headlines, but on Saturday, the Kaohsiung City Government held its annual spring memorial ceremony at the Labor Women Memorial Park (勞動女性紀念公園) in Cijin (旗津), honoring both female workers and the victims of the Kaohsiung No. 6 ferry tragedy (高中六號事件).
The story was told in English on the Formosa Files Taiwan history podcast in Feb. 2024 (S4-E3 – The 1973 Qijin Ferry Tragedy – 旗津渡輪). Twenty-five young women and girls drowned after a severely overloaded ferry capsized in 1973. The deaths spurred changes in public transport safety in Kaohsiung, and the victims became part of a social debate over women’s rights.
Kaohsiung City Secretary-General Kuo Tian-kuei (郭添貴) and other guests laid flowers before the memorial monument, followed by recorder performances by students from Jhongjhou Elementary School (中洲國小), who played Taiwanese classics including Bang Chhun-hong (望春風) and Sì-kùi-âng (四季紅). Visually impaired singer Lu Hsiang-ting (呂湘婷) later performed well-known Mandarin songs, including I Only Care About You (我只在乎你) and The Moon Represents My Heart (月亮代表我的心).
City officials said the ceremony sought not only to remember the historic tragedy but also to highlight inclusion and reaffirm Kaohsiung’s commitment to labor protections, workplace safety, and gender equality.
