In his characteristic golden-framed spectacles and simple attire, former archbishop Desmond Tutu charmed the local audience with a light-hearted joke that showed why he is regarded by so many as a master of his own class.
Speaking after Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng's (
After the staff removed the podium and a massive bouquet of flowers that would have blocked Tutu's figure, I found myself face to face with the man whose name is often linked to that of human rights and political activists such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi.
Unlike South Africa's Mandela, who, at 1.93m, is an imposing figure, Tutu is small and unimposing, but exudes an air of calmness and confidence.
But one shouldn't be misled into thinking this gentle figure lacks the fiery spirit and talent for passionate speaking that great leaders possess.
After a delightful joke at the beginning of his speech, Tutu mesmerized the auditorium with simple, lucid language that was devoid of rhetorical hyperbole.
He spoke in his own dignified, unrushed and truly powerful style.
It was at this point that the greatness of the man became clear to me.
The countless awards and honors he has received around the world can't illustrate this as well as his endeavor to reach each individual with his words, through the most sincere and open way.
He set a relaxed yet somber atmosphere and began to talk about the courage and integrity of the mothers who lost their sons to the hands of government death squads during apartheid.
It was in his measured, trembling voice that he described the tears and pain of those who confessed atrocities in hearings arranged by then president Mandela after the 1994 historical election that put South Africa on the path toward freedom and equality.
With compassion and strength, he delivered his message to Taiwan, quoting the words of poet-philosopher George Santayana: "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it."
Tutu shared his experience presiding over hearings held by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a court-like body assembled after the end of apartheid.
In the hearings, victims of violence came forward with their horrifying experiences and perpetrators of violence confessed and requested amnesty from prosecution.
Tutu said that reconciliation is only possible when a population recognizes the crimes that have been committed.
During his chairmanship at the commission, 5,392 people were refused amnesty and 849 were pardoned.
Tutu explained the criticism he faced that perpetrators had been let off too lightly.
He said, however, that those who had applied for amnesty had taken the step of admitting they had committed violent crimes.
Tutu firmly believes the hearings were the right choice for a delicate time marked by a pained and angered population.
All the applications were made in public and confessions and testimonies were broadcasted live on television and radio.
Tutu said: "There was a penalty. Maybe not the same kind you got in justice."
"But the impunity lies in that the perpetrators had to admit openly what they had done," he said.
Speaking about Taiwan, Tutu commemorated the victims of the 228 Incident and praised the courage of those who were wrongly convicted during the "Formosa Incident" two decades ago, such as Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊). Tutu emphasized that despite Taiwan's progress toward reconciliation, it was sad to see that no arrests had been made in the gruesome murder of former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung's (林義雄) family.
His mother and twin daughters were murdered on Feb. 28, 1980, while he was in prison for human rights activism.
The Nobel laureate's words have come at a crucial time for Taiwan. Our society is grappling with the legacy left by former dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and is trying to move forward toward national reconciliation.
The effort toward reconciliation and healing in South Africa has been sincere. Taiwan, by comparison, is fixated by the notion of reconciliation.
The word has been frivolously tossed around by politicians, who treat it like a tool and cheap commodity.
They overemphasize the importance of "moving on" without sincerely examining the issue of reconciliation.
It is absurd that after all these decades of social and economic prosperity and progress, the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) still refuses to offer a clear explanation of the role it played during more than 40 years of dictatorship under the Chiang family, in which tens of thousands of social elites, students and political dissidents were killed, imprisoned, or disappeared, their fates forever unknown.
While vigorously waving his banner of peace and integration, former KMT chairman and presidential hopeful Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) clearly needs a history lesson.
To this day, Ma has offered no formal apology to the 228 victims and their families.
As an ethnic Mainlander, Ma exclaimed in a rally that Taiwan would reach "true reconciliation" once he was elected president.
Quoting the archbishop's solemn words in his speech, "we human beings are not gods; we can't let bygones be bygones."
Reflecting on the political reality in Taiwan today, it sounded undeniably true, yet painful.
However, I think Tutu's journey to Taiwan has sown the seeds for the beginning of a new awakening.
His compassionate, calm and candid approach should be a model for raising questions about the fundamental conditions of our society.
His words lead us to rethink the past and the direction we are headed in.
After decades of hatred and tension, how do we achieve true peace through reconciliation? And what is the true definition of reconciliation? What does it cost to tell those who seek retribution and revenge to stop and instead find solace in reparation?
These are questions that Desmond Tutu has handed to us as gifts, promising the possibility of healing, but not promising an easy route.
The government, as well as all levels of society, must contemplate the moral voice of this icon, who in his usual style deconstructed Taiwan's political issues with a simple remark that went straight to the heart of the situation.
"The question is how do you make up for the pain, suffering and loss?" he asked.
"You really are not going to have a proper country until you deal with your past," he said.
James Tu
Taipei
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