Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said on Saturday that she would do her best to complete a peace memorial park in the city’s coastal Chijin District (旗津) to commemorate the many Taiwanese soldiers who were killed while being forced to fight for Japan during World War II and later for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government during the Chinese civil war.
MEMORIAL
Chen made the pledge while attending a memorial service at a Presbyterian church in Kaohsiung County’s Fengshan City held in remembrance of Hsu Chao-jung (許昭榮).
Hsu was a pro-independence activist who immolated himself on May 20, the day the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) handed over the reins of the government to the KMT.
Hsu was forced to serve in the Japanese navy during World War II and later fought for the KMT government during the Chinese civil war against the communists.
When he died, he left behind a suicide note in which he protested against the DPP government’s failure to build a monument in memory of many Taiwanese soldiers killed in those battles and to offer compensation to their bereaved families.
Chen, who was imprisoned for pro-democracy efforts during the Martial Law Era, said she would push for completion of the “Chijin War and Peace Memorial Park” during her term in office.
As some critics are opposed to the name favored by Hsu, Chen said she would try to resolve the issue through consultation.
IMPRISONED
Hsu was twice imprisoned for advocating independence during the Martial Law Era.
After he traveled abroad in the 1980s, his passport was invalidated for supporting the pro-democracy movement and he became a political refugee.
Returning after the nation’s democratization in the 1990s, he began working for the cause of Taiwanese veterans and their families.
Chen said she would also push the DPP to document stories of Taiwanese soldiers killed in battle after being forced to fight for Japan and the KMT to help them gain posthumous recognition.
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