Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday unveiled a monument at the Executive Yuan in Taipei, officially designating it a “historical site of injustice” to commemorate the victims killed during the 228 Incident of 1947.
The Incident refers to the indiscriminate killing of a person in a crowd on Feb. 27, 1947, and the machine-gunning of a resulting protest at what is now the Executive Yuan by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government the next day. Estimates of the number of eventual deaths vary from 10,000 to more than 30,000.
The Incident was closely followed by the White Terror era in Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
Chen said 42 sites have been identified nationwide where past injustice had taken place and work is under way to preserve them.
“It is time for us to recognize rights abuses and atrocities by past governments. By restoration and facing up to history, we can go on to sustain peace and justice for all,” Chen said.
He said that Article 5 of the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例) states that “places where the rulers engaged in large-scale human rights abuses during the period of authoritarian rule shall be preserved or rebuilt, and plans shall be made for their designation as historic sites” was the basis for the project.
“In a few days, it is Feb. 28, the day to commemorate what happened at this place. Currently it is the Executive Yuan compound, but 77 years ago in 1947 it was the Taiwan Provincial Administrative Executive Office,” Chen said.
“This was one of several important sites of the 228 Incident. Today, we are unveiling this monument to pay respect to the families of those who lost their lives here. Without their sacrifice and also the efforts of democracy advocates, Taiwanese today would not have freedom, democracy, rule of law and human rights protections,” he said.
Taiwan 228 Care Association director Wang Wen-hong (王文宏) was invited to attend as a guest of honor. Wang’s father, an elected Kaohsiung city councilor, was killed when trying to mediate between local residents and KMT officials during the Incident.
In his address, Wang praised the government’s efforts on transitional justice and expressed the hope that Chen would facilitate work to identify all “historic sites of injustice” relating to the Incident and the White Terror era before the new president takes over on May 20.
Wang also reiterated the demands of familiy members of the victims that the government complete transitional justice by removing the giant bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei.
“Taiwan does not need to have a memorial hall to Chiang, the military dictator who was responsible for mass killings and atrocities against the people of Taiwan,” he said.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS