Witness History

In 1987, Taiwan finally lifted martial law after nearly four decades of authoritarian rule.
The moment marked a profound shift for a society long shaped by censorship, surveillance and political fear.
For many who had lived through the ‘White Terror’, it opened the possibility of speaking openly for the first time.
Among them was Malaysian student Fred Chin, who had arrived in Taiwan in the late 1960s with little sense of the political tensions around him.
What followed would draw him into a world of secret policing and military justice that operated far from public view, leaving lasting effects on his life and identity.
Ashley Byrne speaks to Fred Chin about his story and what the lifting of martial law meant for him. A Made in Manchester production.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Photo: Former Jingmei Military Detention Center, where political dissidents were imprisoned during the White Terror. Credit: Craig Ferguson/LightRocket via Getty Images)

In the 1980s, townships in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town became an unexpected hotbed of activity against South Africa's apartheid government.
One charismatic young activist emerged as a leader of the struggle against white minority rule, becoming known as the Che Guevara of the Cape Flats.
Former anti-apartheid activist Adiel 'Gorie' November tells Sumaya Bakhsh about his memories of his friend and fellow resistance fighter, Ashley Kriel.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Photo: Ashley Kriel. Credit: Rashid Lombard Archive)

In 1988, as floods struck Bangladesh and a heat wave swept across the United States, climate change became a political issue. Governments and businesses alike talked about how to stop it, or at least slow it down.
That year the think tank World Resources Institute and the energy company Applied Energy Services announced a novel idea that has been credited as the first example of a ‘carbon offset’: In order to make up for the millions of tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide that would be released by a new coal-fired power plant in the United States, the energy company would pay to plant 52 million trees in Guatemala. But the reality on the ground was more complicated.
Stan Alcorn visits Totonicapán, Guatemala and speaks with Roberto Antonio Alvarado, who planted the saplings that would be some of the world’s first carbon offsets. Additional producing by Dennis Funk. A Written in Air production.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Photo: Roberto Antonio Alvarado with one of the first carbon offset trees he planted. Credit: Stan Alcorn)

In 2001, filming began on City of God which would stun audiences with its unflinching honesty.
It captured the brutal realities of child gangsters from Rio De Janeiro’s favelas trapped in an unforgiving cycle of violence.
Local children were cast in the film, which was nominated for four Oscars, and their own lives weren’t far from the stories on screen.
Katia Lund who co-directed the movie, speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma about how she was able to draw powerful performances from the children, capturing moments of anguish and terror.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Photo: Katia Lund (second right) with some of the cast of City of God and director Fernando Meirelles. Credit: Francois Guillot/AFP via Getty Images)

In 1943, the cellist, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch was sent to the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. She expected to be killed in the gas chambers but survived because she was recruited to play in an orchestra set up by the women prisoners.
In 2015, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch told Simon Watts about her experience and the power of music in the darkest moments in history.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
(Picture: Holocaust survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch. Credit: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)