The Transitional Justice Commission yesterday exonerated 1,270 people who were convicted after the 228 Incident, with commission Chairman Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) touting the move as “a small, but significant step toward realizing transitional justice.”
The commission held a news conference at the Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel, which was attended by people who were wrongfully or unjustly tried during the White Terror era, as well as family members of those who have died.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Premier William Lai (賴清德), Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) and Control Yuan President Chang Po-ya (張博雅) also attended the news conference, which featured speeches by people affected by the 228 Incident and the White Terror era.
Photo: CNA
Chung Yi-jen (鍾逸人), 98, said he was arrested during the 228 Incident when he was 26 for trying to protect his hometown of Taichung against the “corrupt” officials and troops Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) sent from China, who “bullied and slaughtered” Taiwanese.
“I did not break the law. I was just a Taiwanese trying to defend his country,” Chung said, expressing his gratitude to Tsai for “restoring people’s reputations.”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) gained control of Taiwan after World War II and in 1947 sparked the 228 Incident, which ushered in the White Terror era after Chiang dispatched legions of troops to Taiwan to quash the uprising.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Chiang in 1949, the same year he imposed martial law, retreated to Taiwan with the KMT after its defeat in the Chinese Civil War.
Wu Sheng-jun (吳聲潤), who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for making grenades for a rebel group, said he still weeps when he thinks about his lost friends, who were bludgeoned to death by the then-KMT regime, many of whom he said loved their country and were outstanding people.
Wu, 95, said the US saved Chiang’s life by deploying the US Seventh Fleet to help defend Taiwan after the Korean War, but Chiang was arresting and killing Taiwanese.
Wu thanked Tsai and the “indigenous” government she leads for repealing the unjust convictions imposed on “ill-fated” Taiwanese who until then had been living in disgrace.
Taiwan experienced a dark age before it was democratized, with some people not understanding why they were interrogated or were to be executed, Tsai said.
“Many people and their families spent most of their lives in the hope of redress,” Tsai said. “Although the government conferred certificates to warrant the restoration of their reputations, the erroneous convictions were never repealed.”
Apologizing to those who did not live to witness their exoneration, as well as their families, Tsai said the day came late, “but it is better late than never.”
The president thanked the Legislative Yuan for passing the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), without which the exonerations could not have been granted.
She called on the commission to continue to solemnly and steadfastly perform its duties of redressing judicial injustices, attributing responsibility for past injustices and establishing historical facts to “regain the public’s trust.”
“Democracy will not take a backward step and neither will transitional justice,” Tsai said.
“Only by persistently learning history’s lessons can we truly move toward reconciliation,” she said.
Due to legal restrictions imposed by Article 9 of the National Security Act (國家安全法) and interpretations delivered by the Council of Grand Justices, crimes people were convicted of during the authoritarian period could not be annulled, the commission said.
However, thanks to the transitional justice act, the convictions can be repealed after the cases are published by the authorities, the commission said.
Yesterday’s exonerees were mostly accused of espionage or rebellion against the government during the Martial Law era, the commission said, adding that the Executive Yuan had published their names in a gazette on its Web site.
The exonerations marked the first set in a series of three, with about 10,000 more people to be exonerated, Huang said.
While the first batch represented just a small step, Huang said he hoped it would prove to be a significant step for the quest for transitional justice.
Statistics released by the commission showed that 1,216 men and 54 women were exonerated yesterday, including 274 who were executed.
NOVEMBER ELECTIONS: The KMT urged the CECC to exclude Taiwanese from the arrivals cap, as they would lose their right to vote if they could not return by July 26 The COVID-19-related border control measures and the cap on the number of international arrivals are not being eased, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday as it reported 112 imported cases of the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 of SARS-CoV-2. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is CECC spokesperson, said a meeting was held yesterday morning in which the Cabinet decided that current border control measures would remain in place. He said the main considerations were global COVID-19 cases increasing 21 percent last week, imported cases of Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 continuing to be detected
Samsung Electronics Co yesterday commenced mass production of 3-nanometer chips that are more powerful and efficient than predecessors, beating rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to a key milestone in the race to build the most advanced chips in the world. South Korea’s largest company said in a statement that it was beginning with 3-nanometer semiconductors for high-performance and specialized low-power computing applications before expanding to mobile processors. By applying so-called Gate-All-Around transistor architecture, Samsung’s 3-nanometer products reduce power consumption by up to 45 percent and improve performance by 23 percent compared with 5-nanometer chips, it said. Samsung’s push to be first
Hong Kong singer Jacky Cheung (張學友) has been criticized by the “Little Pink” — a term used to describe young, jingoistic Chinese nationalists on the Web — for saying “Hong Kong jia you [加油, an expression of encouragement].” To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule on Friday, China Central Television made a series of programs in which it interviewed Cheung and other celebrities. Cheung, speaking in Cantonese, said in the interview that “Hong Kong has been through a lot in the past 25 years, including ups and downs” and ended with the phrase “Hong
‘STRONG SUPPORT’: Liberal International expressed concern over Chinese incursions into Taiwan’s airspace, saying they could undermine regional peace Liberal International on Saturday passed a “World Today Resolution” recognizing the threat that China poses to Taiwan, while supporting Taipei’s inclusion in international organizations. Liberal International was established in 1947 as a federation of liberal political parties from around the world. Last week, it held its 63rd congress in Sofia, Bulgaria, which was attended by 221 representatives from 58 countries. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), in her capacity as chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), delivered a speech in a pre-recorded video at the congress’ opening on Thursday. DPP spokeswoman Hsieh Pei-fen (謝佩芬) yesterday said the party, which has been a member of