Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) is not scheduled to attend a memorial ceremony on Sunday to mark the 69th anniversary of the 228 Incident.
Taiwan Nation Alliance convener Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) quoted the Taipei City Government as saying that Ko would not attend the afternoon event and would instead send newly-appointed Taipei Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) in his place.
The 228 Incident refers to the crackdown launched by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime against civilian demonstrations following an incident in Taipei on Feb. 27, 1947. The event also marked the beginning of the White Terror era that saw thousands of Taiwanese arrested, imprisoned and executed.
Sources close to Ko said that the mayor likely declined the invitation because he does not wish to recall the memories of his grandfather, Ko Shih-yuan (柯世元), who died from injuries he reportedly sustained during beatings by authorities.
Last year Ko attended the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum sponsored ceremony. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), recounted how Ko Shih-yuan was arrested and imprisoned by then-KMT authorities for sheltering his Chinese friends who relocated to Taiwan after the defeat of KMT forces during the Chinese Civil War.
President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is expected at this year’s ceremony, which is jointly held by the city government, the alliance and the Taiwan 228 Care Association, Yao said.
Tsai has been invited to sing late composer Tyzen Hsiao’s (蕭泰然) Taiwan the Green (台灣翠青) and she is also expected to present flowers to family members of the victims, Yao said.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is slated to present a “reputation-restoring certificate” to three family members of 228 victim Wang Jen-hou (王仁厚) at the museum-sponsored ceremony, which is scheduled for Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, Gongsheng Music Festival convener Lee Yi-kun (李怡坤) said that in addition to a Taipei concert, students are also planning to hold concerts in Taichung and Chiayi on Sunday to raise awareness about this chapter of Taiwanese history.
Event co-organizer Wen Tsung-han (溫宗翰) said there are four elements in addressing transitional justice — namely compensation for victims’ family members, the establishment of a truth commission, judicial trial and systemic reform — but the government has only issued compensation and failed to take further action.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS