The government is continuing its transitional justice efforts and plans to enhance human rights protection in industrial supply chains, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at a Human Rights Day ceremony yesterday.
In a speech at the National Human Rights Museum in Taipei, Tsai said that the government would continue to integrate and supervise its departments in pursuing transitional justice.
The Transitional Justice Commission was dissolved after it submitted its concluding report in May and accomplished its mission, she said, adding that the Cabinet held its first regular meeting for the promotion of transitional justice in September.
Photo: CNA
The government is planning to set up a reinstatement foundation, which would be responsible for returning property confiscated during the White Terror era and compensating victims targeted by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime, she said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare would continue to provide services such as trauma therapy to the victims and their families, she said.
The Ministry of Education has drafted guidelines for transitional justice education, and along with the Ministry of Justice, it would promote human rights values in schools, allowing the concepts of transitional justice to take root among younger generations and in social educational institutes, to help Taiwanese learn from the past and avoid the mistakes of the White Terror era, she said.
As Taiwan plays a key role in the global trade, the government would continue efforts to protect human rights in industrial supply chains, Tsai said.
National Human Rights Commission Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊) is leading a delegation to France, where she signed a quadrilateral agreement with Paris, Tsai said.
Under the agreement, France is to select human rights experts to be stationed at the commission and assist it in implementing key tasks, such as gender equality and reinforcing democracy, she said.
At the ceremony, Tsai recognized Chang Chang-mei (張常美), a 91-year-old political victim who had been sentenced to 12 years for joining a “seditious” organization during the White Terror era.
The president thanked Chang for sharing her story.
“The democracy and freedom we have today is because past generations sacrificed their lives and freedom to push Taiwan’s democratization process forward,” Tsai said.
“Through continuous efforts to unearth the truth, we are constantly reminded to bravely face our history,” she said.
“The wounds and injustice from the past will not heal on their own over time,” Tsai said. “We pursue transitional justice because we believe that by remembering history and reflecting on it, it can help us avoid mistakes and bring about social solidarity, strengthen democracy and allow Taiwan to continue improving.”
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)