The government should reopen the investigation into the homicide of Chen Wen-chen (陳文成), as questions about the incident four decades ago remain unresolved, the New Power Party said yesterday.
Chen, an assistant professor of mathematics at Carnegie Mellon University in the US, returned to visit family in Taiwan in 1981 and was found dead near a library at National Taiwan University (NTU) on July 3 that year.
A day earlier, the 31-year-old democracy advocate had been detained and interrogated by the Taiwan Garrison Command, a state security force that has since been disbanded. Although Chen died 41 years ago, “the complete truth of the incident” remains unknown, the party said in a statement.
Photo courtesy of the National Taiwan University Student Association
An investigation report published by the Transitional Justice Commission in May said that Chen was likely murdered by the Taiwan Garrison Command.
However, details such as the identity of the murderer were not included in the investigation due to the unavailability of key political files, the party said.
Some of these files were destroyed, while others were difficult to obtain because they are stored within different agencies, it said.
The National Security Council and Investigative Bureau should be held accountable for refusing to release the files on national security or diplomatic grounds, the party said.
“In July last year, we had agreed with the Transitional Justice Commission’s proposal to reopen the investigation of the Chen Wen-chen incident. Since Chen was believed to be murdered and the government was involved in the case, the Ministry of Justice should launch another investigation so that the truth of the incident can be fully uncovered,” the party said.
The party also proposed that the Article 11 of the Political Archives Act (政治檔案條例) be amended to prevent intelligence agencies from withholding information in such investigations on security or confidentiality grounds.
Academia Historica recently published eight volumes of historical materials related to 1979’s Kaohsiung Incident, also known as the Formosa Incident, in which pro-democracy demonstrations were violently broken up by government forces.
However, the party said that certain material in the volumes was redacted at the request of national security officials.
“The Transitional Justice Commission said that information related to the Formosa Incident should be made public,” the party said, adding that the release of all related historical documents should be made legal through an amendment to the act.
The amendment should also list reasons used to withhold information that can be vetted by a higher authority, the party said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS