Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
To work toward reconciliation with 228 survivors and family members of those who were killed, Ma yesterday presented flowers to them at the 228 Incident monument in 228 Memorial Park, Chiayi County.
He pledged to compile autobiographies of the victims, establish a national 228 memorial park and continue research into the crackdown if elected.
BLOCKED BUDGET
In response to pan-green camp criticism over the KMT's obstruction of the budget for the Statute for the Handling of and Compensation for the 228 Incident (
Declining to respond to follow-up questions, Ma said the pan-green camp should not politicize the issue.
Ma acknowledged the KMT's "political" responsibility for the 228 Incident, but added that the violent crackdown should be remembered today with tolerance and compassion.
NEW ERA
Ma said that more people look on the events of that day in 1947 with tolerance and forgiveness. The commemoration of the incident should enter a new era and the public should work together to ensure that future generations have a profound understanding of the 228 Incident, tempered by love and tolerance.
"Families of the victims can choose whether to forgive the government or not. As we [the KMT] face mistakes made in the past, however, we have no choice but to recognize our mistakes and apologize," he said.
The memory of "the incident is very painful for many people and recognizing historical mistakes and offering apologies aren't enough," Ma said. "Only by helping future generations remember this historical event can we prevent similar mistakes from happening."
The KMT and Ma's campaign team also held a 228 remembrance concert last night at Chungshan Hall in Taipei City and arranged blood donation collection efforts around the country.
Ma's spokesman Tsai Shih-ping (
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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