Leaders of a German government-funded foundation tasked with assessing the legacy of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) yesterday stressed the importance of dialogue, education and preservation of memories when dealing with a country’s authoritarian past, after the legislature last month passed the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例).
Federal Foundation for the Study of Communist Dictatorship in East Germany chairman Rainer Eppelmann and foundation deputy director Robert Gruenbaum discussed their country’s experience of handling the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and its illegally obtained assets at a public forum in Taipei at the invitation of the Executive Yuan’s Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee.
The foundation was established in 1998 by the Bundestag to clarify historical truths and promote human rights education.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Eppelmann, who spent the first 46 years of his life living under East Germany’s authoritarian regime, said it is imperative to legally restore the reputation of political victims, but it is equally important to let them tell their stories and share their experiences.
“The purpose of doing so is to prevent people today and tomorrow from committing the same mistakes and to preserve the memories of what happened in the past,” Eppelmann said.
Dialogue with the perpetrators is a must, as most of them have been living with the fear that others will find out about who they once were and will do to them what they used to do to others.
That is why efforts should be made to let perpetrators know that people are not looking for retaliation, but rather seeking an explanation and a sincere apology, he said.
“People living in the same society must talk to each other and explain themselves. Otherwise, how could we live together?” he said.
At a time when more people than ever are born in democratic societies and take democracy for granted, it is all the more important to teach people about authoritarianism and the values of democracy, Eppelmann said.
Younger Germans do not have any any experience of the country’s auhoritarian past, so the government has attempted to teach them what people’s lives used to be like, Gruenbaum said.
“It is vital to incorporate history about East Germany into college education, because only when college students have a clear understanding of that part of history can they pass the knowledge onto the next generation,” Gruenbaum said.
The forum was overshadowed by members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) protesting against government efforts to recover the party’s illegitimately gained assets and remove past authoritarian symbols. Eppelmann was asked how such protests should be dealt with.
“Protests are normal, as long as they are not violent,” he said.
Eppelmann from Monday to yesterday led a three-member delegation to Taiwan, which met with officials from the assets committee, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Culture and the Mainland Affairs Council.
They also visited sites of cultural significance, including Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the National 228 Memorial Museum.
The coast guard on Friday took a Chinese fishing boat and the 17 people on board into custody, after it rammed into a patrol boat while attempting to flee. A 100-tonne coast guard vessel at about 8am discovered a Chinese fishing boat illegally operating in waters about 11 nautical miles (20.4km) northwest of Hsinchu, the Hsinchu offshore flotilla of the Coast Guard Administration said. The crew refused to allow law enforcement to board the ship and attempted to flee, it added. The coast guard vessel and another ship chased the fishing boat for about a half hour, during which time the Chinese boat
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Beijing was trying to “annex” Taiwan, while China said its recent series of drills near Taiwan are aimed at combating the “arrogance” of separatist forces. The Ministry of National Defense earlier this month said that it had observed dozens of Chinese fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby. The increased frequency of China’s military activities has raised the risk of events “getting out of hand” and sparking an accidental clash, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said last week. Asked about the spurt
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on Monday said he would not attend the official Double Ten National Day celebrations for the first time this year, as its English name, “Taiwan National Day,” implies “Taiwan independence.” Writing on Facebook, Ma said he has attended every National Day celebration since entering public service 40 years ago, but “with an exceedingly heavy heart,” has decided to reject this year’s invitation. For the past three years, the government under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has used “Taiwan National Day” for the event’s official English-language title, leaving the “Republic of China” nowhere to be found, he said. The move
RUNWAY UPGRADES: Airports and ports mainly scattered around southwestern Japan are being given major overhauls, primarily serving as civilian-use facilities Japan has chosen 33 airports and ports as candidates for improvement to enhance military capabilities, with a particular focus on infrastructure that could be utilized in a Taiwan emergency, according to a recent report in Japan’s Nikkei Shimbun. Citing the Japanese government’s fiscal budget proposal for next year, the newspaper said Toyko is to name some facilities as essential bases and receive funding for upgrades in line with the revamped national security strategy published last year. According to an unofficial policy document drafted last month and reviewed by the Nikkei, the Japanese government designated 14 airports and 19 ports for improvement, including
RSS