The Transitional Justice Commission yesterday exonerated 1,270 people who were convicted after the 228 Incident, with commission Chairman Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) touting the move as “a small, but significant step toward realizing transitional justice.”
The commission held a news conference at the Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel, which was attended by people who were wrongfully or unjustly tried during the White Terror era, as well as family members of those who have died.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Premier William Lai (賴清德), Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) and Control Yuan President Chang Po-ya (張博雅) also attended the news conference, which featured speeches by people affected by the 228 Incident and the White Terror era.
Photo: CNA
Chung Yi-jen (鍾逸人), 98, said he was arrested during the 228 Incident when he was 26 for trying to protect his hometown of Taichung against the “corrupt” officials and troops Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) sent from China, who “bullied and slaughtered” Taiwanese.
“I did not break the law. I was just a Taiwanese trying to defend his country,” Chung said, expressing his gratitude to Tsai for “restoring people’s reputations.”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) gained control of Taiwan after World War II and in 1947 sparked the 228 Incident, which ushered in the White Terror era after Chiang dispatched legions of troops to Taiwan to quash the uprising.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Chiang in 1949, the same year he imposed martial law, retreated to Taiwan with the KMT after its defeat in the Chinese Civil War.
Wu Sheng-jun (吳聲潤), who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for making grenades for a rebel group, said he still weeps when he thinks about his lost friends, who were bludgeoned to death by the then-KMT regime, many of whom he said loved their country and were outstanding people.
Wu, 95, said the US saved Chiang’s life by deploying the US Seventh Fleet to help defend Taiwan after the Korean War, but Chiang was arresting and killing Taiwanese.
Wu thanked Tsai and the “indigenous” government she leads for repealing the unjust convictions imposed on “ill-fated” Taiwanese who until then had been living in disgrace.
Taiwan experienced a dark age before it was democratized, with some people not understanding why they were interrogated or were to be executed, Tsai said.
“Many people and their families spent most of their lives in the hope of redress,” Tsai said. “Although the government conferred certificates to warrant the restoration of their reputations, the erroneous convictions were never repealed.”
Apologizing to those who did not live to witness their exoneration, as well as their families, Tsai said the day came late, “but it is better late than never.”
The president thanked the Legislative Yuan for passing the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例), without which the exonerations could not have been granted.
She called on the commission to continue to solemnly and steadfastly perform its duties of redressing judicial injustices, attributing responsibility for past injustices and establishing historical facts to “regain the public’s trust.”
“Democracy will not take a backward step and neither will transitional justice,” Tsai said.
“Only by persistently learning history’s lessons can we truly move toward reconciliation,” she said.
Due to legal restrictions imposed by Article 9 of the National Security Act (國家安全法) and interpretations delivered by the Council of Grand Justices, crimes people were convicted of during the authoritarian period could not be annulled, the commission said.
However, thanks to the transitional justice act, the convictions can be repealed after the cases are published by the authorities, the commission said.
Yesterday’s exonerees were mostly accused of espionage or rebellion against the government during the Martial Law era, the commission said, adding that the Executive Yuan had published their names in a gazette on its Web site.
The exonerations marked the first set in a series of three, with about 10,000 more people to be exonerated, Huang said.
While the first batch represented just a small step, Huang said he hoped it would prove to be a significant step for the quest for transitional justice.
Statistics released by the commission showed that 1,216 men and 54 women were exonerated yesterday, including 274 who were executed.
CONGRESSIONAL SUPPORT: A new committee would investigate a backlog of US weapons sales to Taiwan, said its chairman, US Representative Mike Gallagher The US should formally recognize Taiwan as an independent nation, and end its outdated and counterproductive “one China” policy, US Representative Tom Tiffany and 18 other US lawmakers wrote in a petition. “It is time to change the status quo and recognize the reality denied by the US government for decades: Taiwan is an independent nation,” Tiffany told the Epoch Times. “As our long-standing and valued partner, correctly acknowledging their independence from communist China is long overdue.” The resolution also asks the administration of US President Joe Biden to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations and to negotiate a bilateral free-trade
The Pentagon is preparing for US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to visit Taiwan later this year, Punchbowl News reported on Monday, citing an official directly involved in the talks. US administration officials anticipate McCarthy would visit Taiwan some time in the spring, the report said. McCarthy had previously pledged to visit Taiwan if he became House speaker. He was elected speaker earlier this month. He had also said that he would have liked to join then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s delegation when she visited Taiwan in August last year. Pelosi’s 19-hour visit to Taipei marked the first time in 25 years
Taiwan’s Chou Chieh-yu (周婕妤) was crowned the Kamui WPA Women’s World 9-Ball Champion after shutting out British pool titan Allison Fisher 9-0 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the organizers said on Sunday. Following the championship win at Harrah’s Resort and Casino Atlantic City, Chou pocketed US$30,000 and became the first female competitor to hold both the 9-ball and 10-ball world titles since Briton Kelly Fisher in 2012. Chou, 36, won the Predator World Women’s 10-Ball Championship in Austria in September last year after clinching a silver medal at last year’s World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, in July. “I’m very excited and it’s like
JOINT OPERATIONS: Participating in the IMET program, which offers professional training and education to military personnel, would boost Taiwan’s defense capabilities The US government is appropriating funding to help Taiwan participate in its International Military Education & Training (IMET) program to enhance interoperability and capabilities for joint operations of the Taiwanse and US militaries. The funding for Taiwan’s participation in the program is mentioned in the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, a US$1.7 trillion spending bill funding the US federal government for the fiscal year 2023. It covers funding for military support for Ukraine, defense spending and regions affected by natural disasters. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that IMET is an important US