228 Memorial Foundation chairman Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元) criticized an unnamed governmental organization for its alleged unwillingness to declassify documents relating to the 228 Incident, calling its attitude reflective of the obstacles to declassifying materials regarding the White Terror era.
The 228 Incident refers to a crackdown launched by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) authoritarian regime against civilian demonstrations following an incident in Taipei on Feb. 27, 1947. It also marked the beginning of the White Terror era that saw thousands of Taiwanese arrested, imprisoned and executed.
Hsueh said Academia Historica had put in a great deal of effort to find new files for the 70th anniversary of the massacre this year.
The classification level of the files is low and reluctance to comply with Academia Historica’s declassification request is representative of the overall difficulty of declassifying files on the White Terror era, he said.
Most files are governmental and it is imperative for government organizations to periodically clear out file caches, Hsueh said.
Most archivists are not trained historians, he said, adding that agencies should keep the original files when relocating or archiving them.
“No file relating to transitional justice efforts should be shredded before being examined by academics,” Hsueh said.
Academia Historica director Wu Mi-cha (吳密察) said that only the office of a file’s origin could declassify the documents, adding that the government should amend the Personal Information Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
The law makes some information ralting to the Incident unavailable, Wu said, adding that the situation is “odd” at a time when the nation is trying to discover the facts about the Incident.
Wu also said that the Archives Act (檔案法) lacked sufficient power, as it does not grant access to documents filed by the KMT, adding that the Incident occurred during a time when the line between the party and the state was blurred.
“To understand the Incident, we must look into the KMT’s files, and such changes need to be enacted through the Legislative Yuan,” Wu said.
Academia Historica declined to name the government agency, saying only that it has just recently agreed to declassify related files.
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