Declassified materials from the former Secrecy Bureau (保密局) have revealed the names of another 931 228 Incident victims, 228 Memorial Foundation chairman Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元) said yesterday.
The 228 Incident refers to the nationwide anti-government uprisings that began on Feb. 27, 1947, and a series of bloody purges that followed in the subsequent months by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime.
The foundation, after cross-analyzing names with declassified documents from the bureau, has identified another 931 victims, Hsueh said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
“The number of victims is expected to be exponentially more” than what was previously announced and they are not all listed in the documents from the bureau, Hsueh said, adding that the foundation would continue to sift through the declassified files and would make a general report on Feb. 28 next year, the commemoration date of the Incident.
The foundation would continue to report the truth of the Incident as more information is made available, he added.
The Incident was a severe violation of human rights, and in Taiwan, where freedom, human rights and democracy have become important, Taiwanese should endeavor to let the world know more about the massacre, Hsueh said.
It would allow people internationally to understand Taiwan’s situation, Hsueh added.
While there are publications about the Incident in French, there is not a French publication of the interviews of the victims and their families, Hsueh said.
The foundation is promoting publication of a book titled The Testimonies of Silence (沉默的證言), which is to be published in English and French, Hsueh said, adding that additional versions in Japanese and other languages would also be published so foreigners could learn about the Incident.
Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan has readied a draft amendment for the Act for Handling and Compensation for the 228 Incident (二 二 八事件賠償及處理條例) as of June 1 next year, which is awaiting legislative approval.
The act was promulgated on Oct. 7, 1995, and its expiration period on compensation has been extended five times. The latest expiry date was May 23.
Foundation executive chief Yang Chen-lung (楊振隆) said that while the foundation is not accepting petitions for assistance with compensation motions, such services would be reopened to the public after the amendment passes the legislature.
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