At the memorial ceremony on the 54th anniversary of the 228 Incident, relatives of the incident's victims yesterday urged the government "to restore the real face of history," in order to bring about complete reconciliation.
"We will accept apologies from those oppressors and forgive them, but we have to find out who those oppressors were first," said a representative of the victims' relatives, Chen Chung-kung (
Chen said that all relatives appreciated the apologies of both former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), which he said reflected the government's admission that it made mistakes during the incident.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"Only when the truth of the incident has been revealed, will all the relatives of the victims be able to put the emotions of sadness and hatred behind them," Chen said.
Responding to the relatives' appeal, the president promised to lead the people of Taiwan in remembering the incident and to learn from it.
"The government will comply with international standards of human rights and will help all victims and their relatives restore their reputations and get medical assistance," he said during the ceremony.
"In addition, the official archives relating to the 228 Incident must be made public and all school textbooks must correctly record what happened," he added.
The president was accompanied by Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
The president reiterated the government's apology to all relatives after the ceremony, saying the government would not forget to make up for its errors in suppressing human rights in past decades and would never make the same mistakes again.
In the solemn atmosphere of the memorial ceremony, many victims' relatives were unable to contain their emotions as they remembered their loved ones. The premier sounded the "Bell of Peace" and placed lilies, a symbol of Taiwan's vitality, on the 228 memorial in memory of the victims.
Meanwhile, many other cities held ceremonies to commemorate the 228 Incident. Political leaders also made statements to appeal to the nation not to be embittered by grief.
"The historic tragedy tells us that the government has a responsibility and obligation to protect human rights," said People First Party chairman, James Soong (宋楚瑜), at a 228 Incident forum yesterday.
Vice President Annette Lu (
"The 228 Incident symbolized the beginning of a dark page of Taiwan's post World War II history, but the spring of Taiwan's political year started after the transfer of power," Lu said as she addressed another ceremony. "We should learn from the tragedy that the people of Taiwan must be their own masters, instead of expecting outsiders to rule us," she said.Also See 228 Inside
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