Telling others about their traumatic experiences is a healing process for the families of victims of the 228 Incident, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu said yesterday.
Tutu, the former primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, made the remarks when visiting Machangding (
The 228 Incident was an uprising against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration under dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
Machangding Memorial Park is where the KMT executed political prisoners during the White Terror era in the 1950s.
Tutu is visiting the country at the invitation of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
When meeting the family members of the 288 victims, Tutu said that he had not come to Taiwan to educate people on how to solve problems caused by the tragedy. He said he wanted to hear stories from the incident and advised that facing the truth humbly could be a way of dealing with it.
Establishing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was one way that South Africa was able to cope with its racial persecution, he said. Understanding a tragic past can help people face trauma, he added.
"I think it is good therapy for the family members to tell their stories. And finding out the truth from those stories is a key to heal the wound," Tutu said, adding that the government has the responsibility of finding the truth, which is an essential element of reconciliation and forgiveness.
Tutu said that he has seen many South Africans who have suffered from apartheid that are filled with anger, wanting to take revenge. But the sufferers in Taiwan look genial and peaceful.
"I hope [the 228 victims] know that their unfortunate experiences have brought democracy, human rights and freedom to today's Taiwan," he said.
Boraine said that Taiwan and South Africa have similar tragic histories, but they both have just and peaceful voices. He also stressed that pursuing truth can bring hope to people, although it is not an easy path.
"Truth is just like herbal medicine. It tastes bitter but it can heal the past," Boraine said.
Last night, Tutu met former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Lin I-hsiung (
Lin's mother and twin daughters were murdered on Feb. 28, 1980, while he was in jail for his involvement in the Kaohsiung Incident in December 1979, a pro-human rights rally that turned violent. The murders remain unsolved.
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
’DISTORTION’: Beijing’s assertion that the US agreed with its position on Taiwan is a recurring tactic it uses to falsely reinforce its sovereignty claims, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said Chinese state media deliberately distorted Taiwan’s sovereign status, following reports that US President Donald Trump agreed to uphold the “one China” policy in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi urged Trump to retreat from trade measures that roiled the global economy and cautioned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, a Chinese government summary of the call said. China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying that the US should handle the Taiwan issue cautiously and avoid the two countries being drawn into dangerous
RSS