People with links to victims of the White Terror era yesterday called on President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to reflect more on a Taiwanese perspective of history and not cater to minority views that glorify former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
Taiwan Association of University Professors chairman Hsu Wen-tang (許文堂) and others told an academic conference titled “Transitional Justice and Assessing Historic Roles of Chiang Ching-kuo” in Taipei that Tsai should examine history more closely.
At an event on Jan. 22 to open a memorial park for Chiang, Tsai called for solidarity and mutual understanding, saying that the former leader’s “staunch defense of Taiwan is a stance that unites a large part of Taiwanese society, especially as Beijing applies ever greater pressure against the country.”
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Foundation chairwoman Yang Huang Mei-hsing (楊黃美幸) told the conference, hosted by the Chen Wen-chen Memorial Foundation, that “Taiwan came under the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) state rule, during which Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) was a brutal dictator, while Chiang Ching-kuo had other roles.”
“The most prominent of Chiang Ching-kuo’s roles was heading the secret police and state intelligence agencies,” Yang Huang said.
During the White Terror era, many people were executed, most without a trial, she said, adding that this led to untold pain and suffering, broken homes and poverty for the families of those who were killed.
“Chiang Ching-kuo ran the anti-communism policies,” which served the interests of the KMT and the Chiang family, but “Taiwanese became embroiled in the Chinese Civil War, which extended White Terror oppression and the atrocities in Taiwan,” she said.
Taiwan 228 Care Association director Wang Wen-hung (王文宏) said that Chiang Ching-kuo had no concept of democracy or human rights, which his diary and other written records show.
“Chiang Ching-kuo, along with his father, bear most of the responsibility for the brutal suppression and the 228 Incident,” Wang said.
Tsai Kun-lin (蔡焜霖), a former political prisoner who is in his 90s, was incarcerated for 10 years in the 1950s on Green Island (綠島).
“However, White Terror against me and other political prisoners did not end when we were released,” he told the conference.
“People feared to be associated with you, and we were treated with disdain and had difficulty attending school, finding jobs and undertaking other social activities,” he said.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
RSS