Fri, Dec 21, 2018 page8

• EDITORIAL: Compassion for White Terror victims

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  In the aftermath of most cruel crimes in Taiwan, people are often quick to unite behind the victims and their families to demand justice and call for the harshest punishment for the perpetrators. Unfortunately, this compassion and support are lacking for the families of those targeted by state violence during the White Terror era.

  Coping with the loss of a loved one is never easy, as it inflicts deep and lasting psychological wounds that can take months or even years to heal — if it happens at all. Regardless of what caused the loss, be it an accident or malicious behavior, no one would have the heart to tell bereaved families to “get over it,” so why does society expect the families of White Terror victims to do so?

  On Monday, Transitional Justice Commission Acting Chairwoman Yang Tsui (楊翠) talked about the possibility of changing the design of the nation’s coins and NT$200 bill that still bear an image of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石). She also discussed a plan to abolish military honor guards at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei and repurpose the hall to commemorate important historical events linked to the site.

  Although the removal of authoritarian symbols is one of the tasks the commission is required to undertake in accordance with the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), Yang’s Facebook page was quickly inundated with hateful messages, calling her a “disgusting maggot” or saying she should be “stabbed to death” among others.

  Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers also asked Yang, whose two grandfathers suffered unjust imprisonment during the Martial Law era, to stop living in the past and “give Taiwanese a break.”

  They argued that the money to carry out the tasks Yang listed would be better spent propping up the economy.

  The issue of removing statues of Chiang and other authoritarian images has been politicized to such an extent that the public seems to have lost sight of what transitional justice is about — and it is definitely not just about politics.

  One of the important purposes of transitional justice is to clear the names of those who were unjustly tried or executed. Some people have been forced to live with the stigma due to trumped-up charges brought against one of their family members by the former authoritarian KMT regime, or for actions that do not constitute a crime in today’s democratic society.

  Such unjust guilty verdicts have made it all the more difficult for the descendants of White Terror victims to find closure and move on from their traumatic experience. Exonerating those who were wrongly convicted would at least allow their children and grandchildren to finally begin the process of healing.

  Another important purpose of transitional justice is education, which can be achieved in many ways, including by taking down statues of Chiang and removing his image from the nation’s currency.

  It is true that such a change would take money, most likely a lot of it, but what kind of message would inaction send to the younger generation, leaving images of a former dictator — who tortured and executed his own people — to be worshiped?

  Would that not tell them that actions do not have consequences and that money should be placed above all?

  The economy is important, but it is not the only thing that matters, nor should it be.

  Some say that Taiwan’s most beautiful scenery is its people. Maybe it is time to try to live up to that reputation by showing some compassion for those affected by the White Terror era.
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