President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said he would ask the National Archive to search for notes, writings or letters by victims of the White Terror era and return them to their families.
Ma made the remarks at a ceremony held at Jieshou Park in Taipei yesterday in memory of those who suffered political oppression during the Martial Law era.
During the White Terror era, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government killed tens of thousands of suspected dissidents, many intellectuals and members of the social elite.
Photo: CNA
In his speech, Ma said the relevant files at the National Archive contained in excess of 2 million pages, and that he hoped to draft a plan and allot funding for the undermanned National Archive to return the victims’ private letters, notes and writings to their families.
Ma added that he hoped the families of victims who would like the documents would contact the National Archive.
Ma went on to say that preventing the outbreak of war would avoid the same tragedy from happening again, adding that it was the primary reason why he has worked to ameliorate cross-strait tensions since assuming the presidency in 2008 because he hoped that the “Chinese people [中華民族] would never fight one another again.”
During the ceremony, letters by White Terror victim Huang Wen-kung (黃溫恭) were returned to his family. Huang was sentenced to death for allegedly joining a communist organization and working for the Chinese Communist Party.
Huang’s son, Huang Ta-yi (黃大一), said the Republic of China government was more inhuman than the Qing Dynasty government, saying the latter did not confiscate revolutionaries’ private letters.
“We’ve waited 58 years for [the return of] these letters, but how many 58 years does a man’s life have?” Huang Ta-yi said.
Huang Ta-yi also suggested the government change the name of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall to “White Terror Memorial Hall.”
TRANSLATED BY JAKE CHUNG, STAFF WRITER
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