Amid tight security and waves of protests, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) attended the central memorial ceremony of the 228 Incident in Kaohsiung yesterday, pledging to seek ethnic reconciliation by finding the truth behind the incident.
Speaking in Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) to address the ceremony held by the 228 Incident Memorial Foundation, Ma promised to listen to the voices of the 228 victims and their families with humility, unfreeze the budget for the 228 Memorial Foundation and continue to seek the truth for the sake of the families.
DISTURBANCE
PHOTO: AP
Several protesters stood up on their chairs in the seating area and unfurled protest banners that read “Formosa Independence” and chanted protest slogans while Ma was giving the speech. A group of protesters also shouted “Ma Ying-jeou, step down” outside the site.
Continuing his speech amid the loud protest, Ma said he understood the disapproval of some families of 228 victims and said he had been consistent with efforts to reveal the truth about the incident and see it through the eyes of the victims’ families.
“No apologies or compensation can bring back the lives of the victims ... The government should be compassionate because our power comes from the people, and we must listen to the people’s voices with humility,” Ma said at the ceremony held at the Kaohsiung Museum of History.
Ma pledged to defend democracy in Taiwan and promised to carry out his election campaign promise of establishing a national 228 Memorial Museum and supporting the operation of the 228 Memorial Foundation despite the legislature’s move to cancel its NT$300 million (US$8.6 million) budget this year. Ma said he would establish a regulation to push for the establishment of the museum and allocate an annual budget of NT$300 million to continue funding the foundation.
HISTORY
The 228 Incident refers to a massacre that began on Feb. 27, 1947, when Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) troops suppressed an anti-government uprising, leaving tens of thousands dead, missing or imprisoned. The event was a precursor to the White Terror era in Taiwan.
Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also attended the ceremony, but did not interact with Ma.
APOLOGY
Chen Chin-huang (陳錦煌), the head of the foundation, later apologized for failing to prevent disturbances during the ceremony.
“We had planned to hold the ceremony in a peaceful and introspective atmosphere,” he said. “The protest disturbed the activity and was not respectful to the 228 victims.”
Ma encountered another smaller protest later in the afternoon while attending another 228 Incident memorial ceremony hosted by the Taipei City Government at the Taipei 228 Memorial Park. He ignored the protesting voices throughout the whole event.
“A priest told me that although I do not carry the original sin for the incident, I am responsible for finding out the truth ... I will focus all my efforts to look into the truth and give the justice that the families deserve,” Ma said.
The president later joined Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and several members of victims’ families to untie a large white knot above the stage in a gesture of reconciliation among different groups. The guests, however, were unable to untie the knot, creating an awkward moment at the end of the ceremony.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS