The Transitional Justice Commission yesterday said it has researched military prisons that the Ministry of National Defense used during the White Terror era.
The commission studied the history of seven facilities over the past six months and has begun making plans to establish memorials at each, commission spokeswoman Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈) said.
The research would provide a template for the commission’s future dealings regarding “sites of injustice,” she said.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
The former Counterintelligence Bureau’s Taoyuan Correction and Training Facility, a “black site” located in Taoyuan’s Lujhu District (蘆竹), has survived intact, the commission said.
Before being commandeered by the bureau to be used as a secret prison, the traditional Minnan (閩南) compound was the ancestral home of former Taoyuan County commissioner Hsu Chung-te (徐崇德), it said.
Hsu’s family was allowed to live in half of the compound, while prisoners were kept in the other half, the commission said.
The bureau used the prison for alleged traitors from its own ranks and senior military officers who had incurred Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) wrath, such as Lee Hung (李鴻), a decorated commander who Chiang expelled from the army for befriending his rival, general Sun Li-jen (孫立人), it said.
The prison apparently remained in use until 1958, when the bureau relocated the program to the so-called “Wolung Mansion” (臥龍山莊) in the city’s Longtan District (龍潭), it said.
The Lujhu property is owned by a private citizen and the remains of sentry posts can still be seen, while the Wolung Mansion was demolished to build the Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital, it said.
The euphemistically named “Fongshan Guesthouse” (鳳山招待所) in Kaoshiung’s Fongshan District (鳳山) is one of three intact prison facilities used in the city during the White Terror era, it said.
The facility was a detention and interrogation center for sailors and other political prisoners in the navy’s custody, the commission said.
Built by Japan as a wireless communication hub, the facility is now a national historical heritage site, it said.
Kaohsiung’s two other military prisons can be found at Shoushan Military Base (壽山營區), and were operated by the Taiwan Garrison Command and the Southern Region Reserve Command, the commission said.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS