Holding umbrellas and white chrysanthemums, family members of the victims of the 228 Incident and other interested parties braved the cold rain yesterday to visit key locations that witnessed the bloody government crackdown in 1947.
The memorial march was held by the Taiwan Hand-in-Hand Alliance and visited several key places, including the Tien-Ma Tea House, near the intersection of today's Nanking West Road and Yanping North Road.
It was here that a woman vendor, Lin Chiang-mai (林江邁), was beaten up by Monopoly Bureau agents for selling black market cigarettes, sparking the protests that led to the crackdown.
PHOTO: CNA
The marchers also visited the Executive Yuan, then the office of Taiwan's executive administration, where soldiers opened fire on members of the public protesting against Lin's beating and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule.
The participants eventually reached the 228 Peace Park where a memorial service was held.
Many of the marchers had witnessed the slaughter firsthand, but were reluctant to recall the details.
"We think the Chiangs should apologize," said Lin Tien-shiun (
"Although many people say we should forgive, I think only the victims' families are qualified to make that decision," alliance leader Ng Chiau-tong (黃昭堂) said. "People can never fully understand the suffering of those who lost family members in the 228 Incident."
Meanwhile, another memorial service was held at Taipei's Gikong Presbyterian Church yesterday to mourn the victims of a tragedy that occurred on Feb. 28, 1980, now known as the Lin Family Murders.
Former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) and his wife Fang Su-min (方素敏) attended the service to mourn their deceased twin daughters and Lin's mother.
In 1979, Lin was arrested by the KMT government for participating in the Kaohsiung Incident. On Feb. 28, 1980, while Lin was still imprisoned, his mother and twin daughters Lin Liang-chun (
Lin's eldest daughter, Judy Linton (Lin Huan-chun,
The Lins' residence on Xinyi Road later became the Gikong Presbyterian Church, which holds a memorial service each year for the family.
Lin was solemn and silent throughout the service, which included poetry readings and chants.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard