President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday announced the declassification of all historical records relating to the 228 Incident, saying that the measure is critical to establishing the truth and expediting transitional justice.
“Pushing for transitional justice is one of the most important missions for Taiwan’s democracy, but we often have to discern the truth from the mists, with the most crucial yet complicated task being uncovering and collecting the relevant documents, which are scattered across various government agencies,” Tsai said on Facebook.
Tsai’s Facebook post came after the government released a press release touting similar moves, in which it said the speedy declassification of confidential files was aimed at meeting the public’s expectation of transitional justice.
Photo: CNA
Tsai said collecting such material is also fundamental to the government’s efforts to compile a report on transitional justice, “as many traces of history can be found in past government documents, which reveal the names of the people involved, related incidents or other key elements.”
Of the National Achieves Administration’s documents relating to the 228 Incident — which total 1.37 million pages — 4,617 documents were classified, but they have all now been declassified in their entirety, Tsai said.
“In addition, the related political files containing a total of 990,000 pages from 83 different government divisions were listed as pending transfer [to the administration]. The transfer process is expected to be completed by the end of June,” Tsai said.
The Cabinet plans to allocate additional funds to the National Archives Administration to facilitate a three-year-long investigation and collection of political materials relating to the 228 Incident and the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion, which is to begin on March 1, Tsai said.
“That will provide the foundation for the writing of our investigative report on transitional justice,” she said.
The 228 Incident refers to a crackdown launched by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime against civilian demonstrations following an incident in Taipei on Feb. 27, 1947. The event marked the beginning of the White Terror era, during which thousands of Taiwanese were arrested, imprisoned and executed. Historians estimate as many as 30,000 people were killed.
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said the latest development, goals and purposes of the government’s transitional justice commitment are expected to be the focal points of Tsai’s first speech on the 228 Incident as president.
“Pushing for transitional justice is a necessary process for any democratic nation undergoing a transition from authoritarian rule… It is the government’s responsibility to deal with illegitimate party assets, uncover the truth about human rights violations and problematic policies enacted during the rule of the authoritarian regime, and to restore people’s rights,” Huang said.
The transitional justice bill and the political archives bill have been listed as the Democratic Progressive Party caucus’ priorites in the current legislative session, Huang said.
After the passage of the bills into law, an investigative report on the White Terror era is to be published and a truth and reconciliation commission established, Huang said.
‘WEAK POSITIVE’: The man arrived in Taiwan in May and was quarantined for two weeks, Chen Shih-chung said, adding that he might be infected a long time ago The government is considering tightening mask-wearing rules again in light of a potential domestic COVID-19 infection, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday. The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) confirmed seven new COVID-19 cases, six of which are imported. The other case involves a Belgian engineer who entered Taiwan on May 3 and remained in quarantine until May 17, said Chen, who heads the CECC. Although the source of infection has yet to be identified, the case could end the nation’s record of not having any domestic cases in the previous 110 days. The Belgian, in his 20s, is a technician
BRIBERY CASE: President Tsai Ing-wen accepted Su Jia-chyuan’s resignation as he said that he deeply regretted causing trouble for the president due to the investigation Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) yesterday resigned after his nephew, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清), was implicated in a bribery case related to a dispute over the ownership of Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨). “I resigned from the post so that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would not be bothered by it anymore, and the prosecutors can investigate the case in a fair and just manner. I thank President Tsai once again for supporting me. May the country continue to prosper under her leadership,” Su Jia-chyuan said in a statement. The Presidential Office said that Tsai has accepted
‘INCREASINGLY FAVORED’: Taiwan’s ‘transparent laws and efficient courts’ as well as its financial institutions give it a major advantage to become a financial hub, Tsai said Taiwan would liberalize banking and investment rules to establish itself as a regional financial hub, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Taiwan Capital Market Forum in Taipei yesterday. Recent world events could be an opening for Taiwan to become an international center for business investments and financial management, Tsai said at the forum, which was organized by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister publication of the Taipei Times). “We’re facing unknowns in the world right now, including the continuing impact of US-China trade tensions and the reorganization of the global supply chain after COVID-19,” Tsai said. “These bring new challenges and opportunities.” Tsai
ALEX AZAR: The first visit by a head of the Department of Health and Human Services would strictly observe the CECC’s special regulations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar is to lead a delegation to Taiwan — the highest-level visit by a US Cabinet official since the two sides cut formal relations in 1979. The plan was announced yesterday morning by the US Department of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Beijing has expressed its concerns to Washington, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said later yesterday. Taiwan and the US only issued statements saying that the visit would happen “in the coming days.” MOFA said that due to security concerns, it would
RSS