Two US congressmen have issued statements to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the 228 Incident.
Representatives Scott Garrett of New Jersey and Kenny Merchant of Texas, both Republicans, published a history of the incident and its impact on modern Taiwan in Congressional Record, the official record of the proceedings and debates of the US Congress.
Garrett said the incident helped “galvanize Taiwan’s struggle for independence,” while Merchant said it “helped pave the way for Taiwan’s momentous transformation to a thriving and pluralistic democracy.”
Bob Yang (楊英育), president of the Washington-based Formosan Association for Public Affairs, said: “Two twenty-eight must never be forgotten. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
“Like many politically motivated historic tragedies throughout history that are regularly commemorated in other parts of the world, we have a responsibility to continue memorializing the lives of the people [who] perished during the massacre in 1947,” he said.”
“The massacre and the subsequent White Terror of the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] government left an indelible mark on Taiwan’s road toward democracy and freedom,” he said.
Yang said the statements issued by the two US congressmen highlighted the reality that even though the massacre took place in Taiwan, “the sorrows from such a tragedy are shared by everyone around the world who is concerned about human rights and freedom.”
Garrett said in his statement that an estimated 18,000 people lost their lives in the massacre, while Merchant said estimates varied from 10,000 to 30,000.
“The incident is now openly discussed and commemorated as Peace Memorial Day,” Merchant said, adding “the details of the incident have become the subject of investigation. Monuments and memorial parks to the incident victims have been erected in a number of cities in Taiwan.”
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS