The Taiwan Association of University Professors yesterday urged the government to continue transitional-justice efforts after the Transitional Justice Commission completes its term in May.
The commission was established in May 2018 under the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例).
The Act says that the committee is to expire after completing its tasks within two years, adding that the it could request a one-year extension, which Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) approved in May last year.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
At a news conference in Taipei, the association said that transitional justice efforts “must not cease,” as many victims of the White Terror era awaiting justice.
Many of members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) who perpetrated injustices during the era have also avoided responsibility for their crimes, it said.
During the White Terror era, the National Security Bureau recruited informants in schools, companies and other organizations, whose reports on others often led to miscarriages of justice, association deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said.
There were also others wrongly accused of being informers, and many who were forced to do so against their will, it said, adding that many documents have not yet been found, which could provide evidence in some people’s defense.
“Those records that remain hidden would implicate those responsible. If the records remain unseen, the guilty could evade responsibility,” it said. “The government must develop a plan for someone to take up the baton from the Transitional Justice Commission.”
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) said that many of today’s disputes are related to the incomplete nature of transitional justice.
One area where the commission has seen progress is in the pacification of judicial lawlessness, she said, adding that efforts are lagging regarding the removal of symbols of authoritarianism and uncovering historical records.
“The top priority is to define who would finish these tasks. Each competent authority should have a clear direction on this,” she said.
Making government archives fully transparent and accessible to the public would be an important step toward gaining public trust, she said, adding that uncovering historic truths was the only way to achieve reconciliation for victims of past injustices.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to