Minister of Education Ovid Tzeng (曾志朗) issued an official apology yesterday to victims and their families of the "1949 April 6 Incident (四六事件)," local media reported yesterday.
In his apology to the victims of the incident, Tzeng also said that all Taiwanese people should learn from this case to prevent a similar one from happening again.
"`White terror' [political persecution] must be banned from Taiwan's school campuses forever," Tzeng said. "The incident should be taken as an important lesson for human rights."
Meanwhile, Tzeng said that the Ministry of Education is now in discussions with National Taiwan University and National Taiwan Normal University to award the victims with an honorary degree as a form of compensation.
The incident began when police arrested 21 dissident students at National Taiwan University and seven at Taiwan Normal University on April 6, 1949.
The arrests triggered a clash between police and students, leading to the largest student movement before the "Martial Law Era" (戒嚴時期). Several hundred were arrested and some were even executed. The incident also marked the beginning of the so-called "White Terror" (白色恐怖) period as the KMT government later declared martial law on May 20 of that year.
Both National Taiwan University President Chen Wei-jao (
Chang Yi-huai (
Chang, an National Taiwan University graduate, was sent to prison for five years because of his "incorrect ideology." According to Chang, his friend was also sent to prison because he loved to read Mark Twain's novels. "The police insisted that Mark Twain was Karl Marx's brother," Chang said.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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