Yesterday was not only a day of national mourning for the victims of the 228 Incident, but also a day of personal grief for former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Lin I-hsiung (
Lin held a memorial service yesterday in remembrance of the 27th anniversary of the death of his loved ones at the Gikong Church (
At the time of the murders, Lin was still in prison for his involvement in the Kaohsiung Incident -- also known as the Formosa Incident -- an anti-government demonstration organized by Formosa Magazine on Dec. 10, 1979.
At around noon on Feb. 28, 1980, the body of Lin's mother, Lin Yu A-mei (
Lin's nine-year-old daughter, Lin Huan-chun (
The murders were never solved, despite a NT$2 million (US$60,587) reward offered by the police.
At the time of the murders, many pro-independence figures suspected that they had been orchestrated by the then Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government to discourage political activism, but this was never proved.
When approached after the service yesterday, Lin I-hsiung refused to make any comments on the 228 Incident or the murders of his loved ones.
However, one of his articles written in 1995 was selected by the Chiling Educational Foundation -- established by Lin in 1991 to promote harmony -- and read out during the service.
In the article titled The Best Memorial: Promote Harmony Between Ethnic Groups and Eradicate Authoritarianism to Commemorate the 228 Incident, Lin wrote that the 228 Incident should not be interpreted simply as a conflict between ethnic groups.
To do so would be to absolve the perpetrators of their guilt and place the blame on innocent Mainlanders, he wrote. Instead, the incident should be regarded as an act of suppression by a foreign regime, Lin wrote.
In the article, Lin also called for recognition and respect of the fact that different ethnic communities co-exist in Taiwan and that different ethnic groups have different memories, languages and culture.
"It is every ethnic group's responsibility to pursue harmony between different communities," he wrote, adding that politicians who manipulate ethnic issues for their own interests should be condemned by all communities.
DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun and Premier Su Tseng-chang (
After the service, Yu told the media that dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
"[Former KMT chairman] Ma Ying-jeou (
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the