President William Lai (賴清德) today said that his administration would continue its efforts to accelerate the declassification of political archives, further implement transitional justice and prevent the recurrence of similar tragic events while speaking at the national commemoration of the 228 Incident in Taipei.
The ceremony for the 78th anniversary of the tragedy took place at the National 228 Memorial Museum in Taipei this morning.
It was Lai’s first time attending the national commemoration as president and he gave his speech entirely in Taiwanese Hoklo.
Photo: Lo Pei-te, Taipei Times
“My heart has always been with you,” Lai said, paying tribute to the victims of the 228 Incident.
Lai presented flowers to commemorate the victims and extended his condolences to their families.
The cause of the 228 Incident was not ethnic conflict, but troops from mainland China who committed grave crimes upon coming to Taiwan, Lai said.
“As the dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) suffered continuous defeats on the mainland battlefield, he committed heinous crimes to secure his rule over Taiwan,” he said
Countless innocent people were arrested, imprisoned, beaten and killed, leaving families shattered, he said.
Many people fled overseas, and Taiwan lost an entire generation of talent, causing immeasurable damage to society, he added.
Many perpetrators remain unidentified, and this lack of accountability not only fails to provide full closure for the victims and their families, but also prevents true societal reconciliation, Lai said.
His administration would assist the Memorial Foundation of 228 in disclosing information regarding preparators and transitional justice so society can be fully informed, he said.
The National Security Bureau has been instructed to review over 1 million political archives from the martial law period to clarify the historical truth, Lai said.
The Ministry of Culture has begun reviewing places where human rights violations occurred to preserve more “sites with transitional justice significance,” he said.
The annual commemoration is not only to honor the victims, comfort their families and heal historical wounds, but also to ensure that such events never happen again, Lai said.
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