The Transitional Justice Commission tasked with uncovering the history of political repression during the Martial Law era was formally launched yesterday at a ceremony attended by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier William Lai (賴清德).
It was time to close the era of authoritarianism and that the establishment of the commission was a testament to the nation’s consolidated democracy, Tsai said in a speech at the ceremony.
Over the past 30 years of democratization, Taiwan has had little awareness of the importance of transitional justice, she said.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
As a result, work on promoting transitional justice has been focused mainly on distributing compensation or issuing certificates of restored reputation to victims of political repression, she said.
Governments of the past did not embark on a systematic truth-seeking investigation to establish responsibility and failed to set up a legal mechanism for the rehabilitation of victims, she added.
As the government did not do enough in those areas, the wounds that were inflicted on the nation’s history have not healed, which makes it difficult to enter the phase of dialogue and reconciliation, Tsai said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
However, “we are going to get out of that plight, starting today,” she said.
Citing the examples of Germany, South Africa and South Korea, Tsai said special organizations to promote transitional justice have been established in many other nations.
The first mission of the commission would be to issue an accurate report on the era of authoritarian rule under the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime, Tsai said.
Also speaking at the ceremony, Transitional Justice Commission Chairman Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄), a former legislator and Control Yuan member, told the ceremony that the main task of the commission would be to seek and disclose the facts of the authoritarian era, rather than to settle old scores and incite enmity.
Over the next two years, the commission would submit accurate reports on the era of authoritarian rule to ensure accountability and to make sure justice is served so that integration of various ethnic groups can be achieved, he said.
In accordance with the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例) passed in December last year, the commission consists of nine members, including three from the same political party, and no fewer than three men or women.
The main tasks of the commission are to make political archives more readily available, remove remnants of the nation’s authoritarian past, redress judicial injustice, produce a report on the history of the authoritarian era and take steps to promote transitional justice.
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
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘NOT SUBORDINATE’: Only Taiwanese can decide the nation’s future, and people preserving their democratic way of life is not a provocation, President William Lai said Taiwan does not want China’s “one country, two systems,” and must uphold its freedom and democracy as well as resolve to defend itself, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, rejecting Beijing’s latest bid to bring the country under Chinese control. The president made the remarks while attending a commissioning ceremony for Taiwan’s first battalion of M1A2T Abrams tanks in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口). The tanks are made by General Dynamics, a major US defense contractor. China this week said it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media
RSS