City mayors and advocacy groups yesterday called for support for Ukraine at events across Taiwan to commemorate the 228 Incident.
“Taiwan’s authoritarian ruler ordered the indiscriminate killing of people in 1947. Now similar things are happening in far-away Ukraine,” Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said at a ceremony at the city’s 228 Peace Memorial Park.
“We sympathize with [Ukraine], because peace, justice and liberty are universal values. The Kaohsiung lantern festival has put on a blue and yellow light display in recent days, to show that we stand in solidarity with Ukraine,” Chen said.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) at his city’s commemoration event also urged people to support Ukrainians.
“We have seen great courage displayed by the president of Ukraine and his people, who stood up and took up arms to defend their homeland ... When they rise up with such determination, they create a very powerful force,” he said.
“Now we pray that the war ends soon, so that the people of Ukraine can enjoy ... their democracy and live in freedom,” Cheng said.
He said that Taiwanese could learn from Ukranians who have shown the world their determination to defend their country,
In Taipei yesterday afternoon, the Taiwan Republic Office and leaders of the Anti-M Society Association held a 228 Incident rally at which they held up Ukrainian national flags in a display of support.
Taiwan Republic Office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) said it is understandable for Taiwanese to stand together with Ukraine.
“KMT leader Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and now [Russian President Vladimir] Putin invaded other countries ... but Chiang’s massacre and the atrocities committed in Taiwan were worse than Russia’s invasion, because he continued to rule over Taiwan for several decades ... and tens of thousands of victims were killed during the White Terror era,” Chilly Chen said.
At a commemoration event in Kaohsiung held each year by civic groups, Chen Chi-mai said he represented all city residents by presenting lilies to the surviving family members of victims of the 228 Massacre.
The 228 Massacre refers to protesters being shot by security personnel on Feb. 28, 1947. A resulting crackdown left thousands dead, and was followed by nearly four decades of martial law.
Wang Wen-hung (王文宏), chairman of the 228 Victims Care Association of Taiwan, said the government must complete the transitional justice process and remove all Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) statues and other symbols of authoritarianism.
Wang’s father was a city councilor who was executed by the KMT.
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