The 228 Memorial Foundation plans to open its national 228 memorial museum in 2011 with the goal of presenting the “honest” truth behind the 228 Incident free from political bias, foundation chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢) said yesterday.
The museum, located on Nanhai Road (南海路) where the American Institute in Taiwan’s culture and information section used to stand, will be a place for the victims of the 228 Incident and their families, Chan said.
The venue will also be used to hold memorial services or concerts, he said, adding that the foundation would work on projects with Taipei City’s 228 Memorial Museum.
The 228 Incident was sparked by civilian resistance to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule. The 1947 massacre remained a forbidden subject for decades under the rule of dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son, late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
Efforts to study the 228 Incident did not begin until 1987, when martial law was lifted.
It was not until 1995 that then-president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) made the first official apology for the incident.
Lee also ordered the Cabinet to form an ad hoc foundation, which has since become the 228 Memorial Foundation, to offer subsidies to victims and their families.
The legislature later agreed on compensation and made Feb. 28 a national holiday during Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) presidency.
Chen also erected a national 228 monument, declassified documents related to the massacre and presented government certification to victims and their families to formally restore the reputations of people who were dubbed “hooligans” by the KMT regime.
During Chen’s term as Taipei mayor, he established a municipal 228 museum and turned Taipei New Park into the 228 Peace Park.
Saying the “228 Incident” remained an emotional topic for Taiwanese, Chan said the foundation had just reshuffled its board, and one-third of the members are victims, relatives of victims, academics or other experts.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) did not interfere in the selections of board members, Chan said.
The newly structured foundation will make an effort to remain objective, rational and moderate and steer clear from politics, he said.
It will also continue research into the incident.
Chan said three of the board members were historians or history professors.
“We hope they can represent mainstream public opinion because they are objective and rational,” he said.
“We hope we can return to the way that mainstream society wants to see us operate — namely, by advancing ethnic harmony and social unity.”
The foundation received much praise as well as criticism when it published a book, The 228 Incident: A Report on Responsibility, in February 2006.
The book argued that the KMT should be held responsible for the 1947 massacre because its leader at the time — Chiang Kai-shek — along with Chen Yi (陳儀), whom Chiang selected to be the executive administrator of Taiwan, was the mastermind behind the incident.
Chan said he would leave determining the truth to historians and experts because he did not have any personal experience with the “228 Incident.”
He said he realized, however, that the topic is sensitive and many families of victims have not come to terms with what happened to their loved ones.
“That’s why we will continue to exist,” he said. “President Ma also agrees with me that we must honestly tell the truth of what happened because history is after all history.”
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS