Breaking the Wall

On April 24, 1970, outside New York’s Plaza Hotel, Cornell PhD candidate Peter Huang attempted to assassinate Chiang Ching-kuo. His declaration, “Let me stand up like a Taiwanese,” outlasted the failed shot. After 25 years in exile, Huang returned to Taiwan and devoted himself to human rights. Filmed over seven years, Kevin H.J. Lee’s documentary follows Huang’s later life, asking why a promising student chose a lifetime of resistance and what he has been fighting against ever since. Like a kite flying against the wind, his life traces Taiwan’s evolving human rights movement and collective memory. As his body and memory grow frail, his spirit and resolve remain sharp.