A wake of sorts was held yesterday at 228 Memorial Park in Taipei by Taiwanese who faced political oppression and groups that support them to honor Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters.
The “Lennon wall” near Prince Edward Station that was torn down by Hong Kong authorities was re-established at the park.
Taiwan 228 Incident Care Association director-general Pan Hsin-hsing (潘信行) said that the Hong Kong protests are “exactly like the 228 Massacre,” as the Hong Kong government is using its power to deprive people of their lives.
Photo: CNA
The 228 Massacre refers to a military crackdown by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration, which began in Taipei after an incident on Feb. 27, 1947, and the shooting of protesters by security forces the following day.
The 228 Massacre ushered in the White Terror era, a period of political persecution that took place under martial law from May 19, 1949, to July 15, 1987.
Pan said he could not stand by, and he and the groups are determined to support the protesters.
White Terror victim Mao Fu-cheng (毛扶正), a waishengren (外省人) — people who fled to Taiwan with the KMT in 1949 after its defeat in the Chinese Civil War — said that the KMT had no justice in it.
The now-defunct Taiwan Garrison Command fabricated claims about many people, Mao said.
Mao said that he and his brother, Mao Chueh-fei (毛卻非), served on landing ship Mei Song (美頌) — his brother the captain and he a communications officer — before they were detained in Kaohsiung.
He could hear his brother being beaten every day while they were detained at a naval facility in Fongshan District (鳳山), Mao Fu-cheng said, adding that he was transferred to Taitung County’s Green Island (綠島) for five years.
His brother was executed, he said.
“I cannot help but remember those days in Fongshan when I watch footage of Hong Kong police beating protesters,” Mao Fu-cheng said, adding that everyone who supports freedom and human rights should support Hong Kong.
A Hong Konger, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had participated in many protests and was worried for his safety.
“Hong Kong is facing its own white terror,” he said.
“Not only are police cracking down on protesters, some women — and even some men — have been raped by police officers,” he said.
Police threats have also kept silent family members of people who reportedly committed suicide over the past few months, he said, adding that the deaths were not what they seemed.
Many members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council are in Beijing’s pocket, he said.
Attendees wore masks of 15-year-old Christy Chan (陳彥霖), who was found dead in the sea near Devil’s Peak in Hong Kong’s Yau Tong area.
The cause of death is still not known, as autopsy results have not been released.
Chan’s mother says she committed suicide, while others say she might have been murdered by opponents of the protests.
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