New Power Party (NPP) and civic group representatives seeking justice following the 228 Incident yesterday demanded that the government dismantle the Chiang Kai-shek (CKS) Memorial Hall.
The 228 Incident refers to a massacre in 1947 by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime and the resulting crackdown that left thousands dead was followed by nearly four decades of martial law.
‘NO REASON’
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) is the man most responsible for the 228 Massacre of Taiwanese as he was the leader of the KMT and commanded the troops, which he ordered to shoot and kill during the crackdown,” 228 Victims Care Association of Taiwan chairman Wang Wen-hung (王文宏) told a news conference in Taipei. “There is no reason for Taiwan to continue to celebrate a mass murderer, with monuments of Chiang and many of his bronze statues still in place across the nation.”
“The government has dragged its feet on transitional justice,” he added.
“As the years go by, more and more 228 Massacre survivors and their families have passed away, leaving us without receiving justice,” he said. “I ask our government leaders, how long we do have to wait?”
NPP Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said that the Transitional Justice Committee’s mandate is to end in May and is not likely to be extended.
UNFINISHED WORK
“Its work to recover White Terror era files and government documents and remove all authoritarian symbols has not been completed. If the committee is terminated in May, it would be disrespectful to the wishes of 228 Massacre victims and their families,” he said.
“We have welcomed visitors from Lithuania, Latvia and the Czech Republic, whose people have fought authoritarian regimes to become democracies. How can we explain why in the center of Taipei, we still have this monument to commemorate a dictator?” Chiu said.
The group, including representatives from the Taiwan Association of University Professors, Taiwan Human Rights and Cultural Association and Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, met with Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) before marching to the Presidential Office Building to present a petition letter, which was accepted by a government representative.
FIVE DEMANDS
The petition listed five major demands, including taking action to dismantle the memorial hall and Chiang’s statues at government offices and properties within three months, and cutting off government funding for military honor guards and the upkeep of the memorial hall and resting place of Chiang and his son former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
The group also demanded that the National Security Bureau and related agencies stop deleting and destroying 228 Incident files and documents, speed up judicial reform and provide full accounts of investigation results on the killing of prominent figures during the White Terror era.
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