A member of the Control Yuan deplored the government's failure to preserve documents relating to important historical figures in modern Taiwanese politics.
In contrast to Taiwan's lack of research into its history, Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) said China had shown a great interest and spent a lot of research resources on the subject.
Huang warned that if the government didn't start documenting and preserving Taiwanese history, China may become the sole authority on Taiwanese history.
“It would be quite ironic if we have to ask for information about the 228 Incident from academics in China,” he said.
The 228 Incident refers to a massacre that took place in 1947 when Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) troops suppressed a Taiwanese uprising, leaving tens of thousands dead, missing or imprisoned.
Huang made the statement following an investigation into the subject with another Control Yuan member, Ger Yeong-kuang (葛永光).
Citing examples, Huang said that Chiang Wei-shui (蔣渭水), Lin Hsien-tang (林獻堂), Chien Chi (簡吉) Lin Cheng-lu (林呈錄) and Tsai Hui-ju (蔡惠如) worked for the political and social rights of Taiwanese during the Japanese colonial period.
While these people are Taiwanese, documents about them are scattered everywhere and are mostly unknown to the public, Huang said.
In contrast, China has about 30 large institutions specializing in Taiwanese studies, he said, adding that he was very surprised when two Chinese researchers told him they were very familiar with two books that helped shape the Democratic Progressive Party's political agenda in the 1990s — People’s Constitutional Assembly (人民制憲會議實錄) and The Democratic Constitution (民主大憲章實錄) — while most Taiwanese might not even know that these books exist.
Huang suggested the Ministry of Education set up an archive of documents on Taiwanese history and that the Academia Sinica build a center for research on Taiwanese history with full manpower and budget.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS