Premier Su Tseng-chang (
"Many of the victims of the 228 Incident are long gone and documentation is very difficult to come by. The foundation put a lot of effort and time into gathering crucial information for its report. I commend their efforts and express my appreciation," Su said.
Speaking during the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday morning, Su said that the government wanted to emphasize its endorsement of the foundation's report, which was published last year.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"We owe the victims of the 228 Incident a great debt. This is [payment for] just part of [that debt]," Su said.
The Cabinet commissioned the foundation to produce a report on the incident in 1992 with a view to retelling the story as accurately as possible. The report concluded that dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
Su said that the foundation would not cease to function now that the report had been produced.
"The publication of this report will not be the foundation's final act. On the contrary, the foundation will have an annual budget of NT$300 million [US$9 million]," Su said.
Su said the Democratic Progressive Party, since coming to power in 2000, had attempted to make reparations to the relatives of 228 Incident victims.
Although the Regulations for Handling of and Compensation for the 228 Incident (
"We need to keep compensating victims' family members for the loss of their loved ones. We also need a government office to continue the work of human rights protection and promotion," Su said.
During the Cabinet meeting, officials also came to an agreement that the national flag will fly at half-mast on Feb. 28 every year.
Su also announced that the Taiwan Post Co (
"This is another small gift from the government to the relatives of 228 Incident victims," Su said.
In related news, Cabinet Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said that Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall could be converted into a memorial for all of Taiwan's elected presidents.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
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