When the documentary Searching for the Silent Mother of the 228 Incident -- Lin Chiang-mai (尋找二二八的沈默母親林江邁) was released in December, Juan Mei-shu (阮美姝) -- a relative of one of the incident's victims -- was dumbfounded.
The documentary, sponsored by Taipei City Government's Department of Cultural Affairs during former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (
Textbooks largely agree that the 228 Incident was sparked by a conflict between anti-contraband officers and locals as the officers tried to confiscate Lin Chiang-mai's black-market cigarettes.
In the documentary, Lin Ming-chu, who claims she was present when the conflict took place, says it was the result of a simple misunderstanding. She says the locals, most of whom spoke Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese), thought one of the Mandarin-speaking officers was refusing to pay for his tobacco.
Juan, however, who lost her father in in the incident, feels that Lin Ming-chu's account is an attempt to rewrite history.
"The content of the documentary and the brochure that accompanies it is completely contrary to what Lin Ming-chu and [her uncle] Lin Pao-lo (
This was the second press conference Juan has held to criticize the documentary since she declared her "retirement" from 228 Incident research in June.
The first press conference was held at the legislature last month, but did not attract too much media attention. This time, Juan decided to take members of the media on a trip down memory lane.
Although the Tien Ma Tea Room (
Seventy-five-year-old Wang, who flew back from the US for the press conference, said he was selling cigarettes next to Lin when the conflict took place.
Wang said that he saw an anti-contraband police officer hit Lin Chiang-mai on the head with his gun after struggling to take some cigarettes from her.
Wang added that he had not seen Lin Ming-chu at the scene and doubted that she knew what had actually happened.
Huang Shou-li (
Wang Yi-chun (
"People have different interpretations of history. Our documentary chronicles Lin and her daughters' involvement in the 228 Incident and how it affected their lives," Wang Yi-chun said.
Hsieh Ying-tseng (
The department had made the documentary so as to preserve the historical record, he said, adding that whether the narrative matches the historical facts should be left to historians to verify.
However, this explanation did not satisfy Juan or her supporters.
"In terms of historical research, memories of the people who were at the scene should be regarded as primary materials. [Making a documentary based on] indirect report from others [who were not present] may contribute to unnecessary misunderstanding [about the event]," said Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), a professor of Taiwanese history at National Chengchi University.
Juan said the documentary glossed over pre-existing public dissatisfaction with the then Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government before the incident occurred.
"A discourse without context cannot serve as evidence to explain a historical event. We cannot avoid talking about the real reason why the incident happened if we would like to portray the real story behind Lin Chiang-mai," Juan said.
"If we lack the courage to face history, we will only blur the face of the real Lin Chiang-mai. This in turn makes the documentary a fabrication," she said.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan
RSS