Taiwan is amid a wave of rediscovering its own democratic history. In the past month, there has been controversy over the upcoming release of Murder of the Century, a film based on the Lin family massacres; Taipei 101 chairwoman Janet Chia (賈永婕) has been touring historic sites central to the story of Taiwan’s democratic transition; and the Ministry of Education has launched a new transitional justice online learning portal.
Much like students reading the plaques at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall for the first time, what people are finding is a little different from what they have read in textbooks. It has been decades since Taiwan’s democratic transition; we have seen several transitions of power in the government, and a Transitional Justice Commission was established to rectify injustices of the martial law period. Nevertheless, it would not come as a surprise if young people are more familiar with the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre than with the 228 Incident, the Lin family murders, the Formosa Incident, or democracy activists such as Chen Wen-chen (陳文成), who died under suspicious circumstances during the White Terror, and Freedom Era Weekly founder Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), who set himself and the publishing house on fire, and died in the blaze.
If our history textbook can tell us about far away events in China, such as the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Northern Expedition, anti-Communist campaigns and the war against Japan, why can they not teach students about the history of where they grew up? For example, they should teach about how the 228 Incident helped lead to the ethnic reconciliation efforts that Taiwan has pursued over many years, or that Deng’s self-immolation was in pursuit of freedom of speech — and that New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) was captain of the Taipei City Police Department overseeing the investigation at the time. We should let young people understand that what is now taken for granted was, in fact, won through the sweat, blood and tears of previous generations.
After a democratic transition, the telling of history — especially the history of authoritarian politics — should be free from concealment. Yet in Taiwan, the very KMT that held power during authoritarian rule has never truly shown humility toward the people over the pain caused throughout this period. Whenever these issues are raised, the KMT dismisses them as politically motivated.
In the legislature, they have slashed 90 percent of the budget for the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee, which is responsible for investigating and recovering those improperly obtained assets from the authoritarian era. Moreover, they have aligned themselves with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in promoting the so-called “1992 consensus,” implying the recognition of “one China.” What they fail to mention is that the CCP allows no freedom of speech, imprisons dissidents and runs a single-party dictatorship without elections — one which sends warships across the Strait to threaten Taiwan.
Confronting mistakes is necessary for reconciliation. This is not about settling scores; that would be the behavior of an authoritarian state. However, if the KMT still refuses to face this period of history and tries to cover it up with more authoritarian thinking, they are in for a rude awakening. With this wave of rediscovery and education on Taiwan’s history of democratic transition, more and more young people are coming to understand the nation’s past under authoritarian rule. Once this becomes a broader trend, the KMT would, in the long term, inevitably be submerged by the tide of history.
Arthur Chang is a lieutenant commander in the navy reserves.
Translated by Gilda Knox Streader.
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