Today, Taiwan marks the 76th anniversary of the 228 Massacre, which in 1947 sparked more than four decades of terror under authoritarian rule that the nation is still struggling to process. Yet for all the politicized finger pointing around transitional justice, it remains impressive the strides society has taken to reconcile its violent past without resorting to retaliatory violence, as has been seen throughout history.
The past five years — since the formation of the Transitional Justice Commission — have witnessed a concerted effort to investigate, understand and repair past trauma. In the past week, the Control Yuan released another report on the 1980 murders of Lin I-hsiung’s (林義雄) mother and daughters based on newly uncovered documents, discovering collusion to blame the incident on dangwai (黨外, “outside the party”) and democracy activists. Academia Historica added the 30th tome to its collection on the 228 Massacre with a set of records on the military crackdown against civilian protests in Keelung beginning on March 8, 1947. A government foundation also approved NT$34.17 million (US$1.12 million) for 13 victims of political persecution — using the politically significant term “reparations” — while the Ministry of Justice expunged the criminal records of another 420 people with wrongful convictions from the era.
Each small step toward uncovering the truth and reconciling the past should be celebrated, even while acknowledging how much further there is to go. Files remain inaccessible to historians, while many politicians are unwilling to go further than offering an apology for the cameras. Debates continue in isolation on the removal of authoritarian symbols, ownership of assets and apportionment of blame, without a public forum where both sides feel comfortable airing grievances and admitting to wrongdoing along the lines of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Reconciliation is impossible without the full and honest participation of everyone involved, but there is still a strong faction that decries transitional justice as political theater and undue retribution. Especially when it comes to returning ill-gotten assets, many in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) bristle at the suggestion that its members must answer for the institution’s past with their pocketbooks and pride.
Still, its past — from which it still benefits — continues to reverberate through the present. Only by facing up to its history can the KMT fully reinvent itself in the eyes of the public, thereby also benefiting the party’s future electoral chances as it flounders to transition into a new era of politics.
Those who would cry foul should also recognize what is at stake. Taiwan more than anywhere else must coalesce under a unity of purpose, for it is not just one political party that faces the threat of a “red terror.”
There are politicians such as the KMT’s Alex Tsai (蔡正元) who force a narrative of difference. Days ago, Tsai wrote on social media that more “mainlanders” were killed during the 228 Incident than native Taiwanese, as if there is a “them” seeking vengeance against an equally victimized “us.” In reality, the “us” was everyone under the thumb of a dictator.
Unity is only formed atop a shared understanding of history. This is the true value of transitional justice — to reconcile the past to build consensus. Yet before the past can be reconciled, it must be known, and that requires openness by the perpetrators, and grace by the victims to recognize that their final destination on the other side of this painful process is one and the same.
This day provides an occasion for reflection on the victories, challenges and goals of transitional justice. Taiwanese should be proud of each uncovered file and removed statue, as they are reflective of the democracy their forebears fought and died to win. At the same time, it is a cause worth the sacrifice, as it can bring about a society that can stand proudly together against the vicissitudes of the future.
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