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.
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