Claims that dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
Nearly 61 percent of those polled in the Taiwan Thinktank survey conducted on Feb. 13 and Feb. 14 said it was acceptable to place the blame for the massacre on Chiang, while about 28 percent did not.
The 228 Incident was an uprising against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government sparked on Feb. 27, 1947.
Almost 48 percent of respondents also said commemorating the incident would not affect ethnic harmony, while nearly 44 percent said it would. About 47 percent of respondents said efforts to uncover the truth behind the incident were insufficient, while 36 percent disagreed.
Yao Jen-to (
Whereas in 1997 only 18 percent of respondents felt this way, nearly 57 percent of this year's respondents said ethnic tension was a serious problem. The figures in 2003 and 2004 were 32 percent and 56 percent respectively.
Yao said that as the distribution of social resources was quite equitable, ethnic tension in Taiwan was not as bad as in some other countries.
Hsu Yung-ming (
Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), dean of the Graduate Institute of Taiwan History at National Chengchi University, agreed, saying that ethnic tension usually escalates during election periods when politicians try to arouse the passions of their constituents.
However, he said that uncovering the truth behind the 228 Incident would help to improve ethnic harmony.
Chen Chun-kai (陳君愷), a history professor at Fu Jen University, concurred. As most respondents did not think pointing the finger of blame at Chiang would disturb ethnic harmony, Chen said it was time to debunk the myth of Chiang. Roads or buildings named after him should be renamed and statues of the former dictator removed, Chen said.
also see stories:
KMT pledges to care for 228 victims
Kaohsiung events mark 228, look toward future
Museum's exhibition shows valuable documents, records of 228 Incident
MILITARY BOOST: The procurement was planned after Washington recommended that Taiwan increase its stock of air defense missiles, a defense official said yesterday Taiwan is planning to order an additional four PAC-3 MSE systems and up to 500 missiles in response to an increasing number of missile sites on China’s east coast, a defense official said yesterday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the proposed order would be placed using the defense procurement special budget, adding that about NT$1 trillion (US$32,88 billion) has been allocated for the budget. The proposed acquisition would include launchers, missiles, and a lower tier air and missile defense radar system, they said The procurement was planned after the US military recommended that Taiwan increase
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
TWO HEAVYWEIGHTS: Trump and Xi respect each other, are in a unique position to do something great, and they want to do that together, the US envoy to China said The administration of US President Donald Trump has told Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) “we don’t want any coercion, but we want [the Taiwan dispute] resolved peacefully,” US ambassador to China David Perdue said in a TV interview on Thursday. Trump “has said very clearly, we are not changing the ‘one China’ policy, we are going to adhere to the Taiwan Relations Act, the three communiques and the ‘six assurances’ that were done under [former US president Ronald] Reagan,” Perdue told Joe Kernen, cohost of CNBC’s Squawk Box. The act, the Three Joint Communiques and the “six assurances” are guidelines for Washington
DEEPENING TIES: The two are boosting cooperation in response to China’s coercive actions and have signed MOUs on search-and-rescue and anti-smuggling efforts Taiwan and Japan are moving to normalize joint coast guard training and considering the inclusion of other allies, the Japanese Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. Both nations’ coast guards in June sent vessels to the seas south of the Sakishima Islands to conduct joint training, the report said, adding that it was the second joint maritime training exercise since the nations severed formal diplomatic ties in September 1972. Japan dispatched the Nagoya Coast Guard’s Mizuho, a 134m, 6,000-tonne patrol vessel which can carry a helicopter, while the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sent the 126m, 4,000-tonne Yunlin, one of its largest vessels, the report
RSS