A government foundation dedicated to restoring justice to White Terror era victims and their families has approved the financial compensation and restitution of personal reputation and assets in 52 cases.
Taiwan’s White Terror era refers to the period of political persecution that began when Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) declared martial law in 1949.
The Restoration of Victims’ Rights Infringed by Illegal Acts of the State During the Period of Authoritarian Rule Foundation said that compensation totaling NT$190 million (US$6.35 million) was approved during its board meeting late last month for 51 cases of “loss of life or personal liberty contravened by unlawful acts of the state” and one case of “property ownership that was confiscated through unlawful acts of the state.”
Photo: Taipei Times
The cases of loss of life or infringement of personal liberty by the state included people who were then councilors or were serving in public office, the foundation said in a statement, adding that one of them was arrested by authorities and later listed as missing.
There was also one elementary-school principal who was arrested and received a life sentence for participating in a book study group, while another man lost his life after an execution order from high-placed officials, it said.
At the time, people taking part in book study groups were considered leftists and suspected by KMT leaders of being communist spies, it said.
The foundation said it also found a case where partial ownership of confiscated property had been passed to a third party.
It said it carried out a detailed assessment and calculation on the property and its value, and was able to grant financial compensation to the victim and their family members, as well as restore their reputation and rights in accordance with the Act to Restore Victim’s Rights Infringed by Illegal Acts of the State During the Period of Authoritarian Rule (威權統治時期國家不法行為被害者權利回復條例).
As of the end of April, the foundation, which was launched in February 2023, had received 2,520 applications for financial compensation and had approved 2,212 such cases, it said.
Sixty-two cases were declined compensation, as the applicants did not meet the qualifications or lacked the required documents, it added.
The foundation also received 3,635 applications for restoration of reputation and rights, of which 3,270 cases were approved, it said.
As for cases related to properties confiscated by the state, the foundation said it had received 306 applications as of last month, with 27 cases granted financial compensation, while 50 were withdrawn and 161 were dismissed.
Most of the dismissed cases were on the grounds that the original court ruling did not stipulate the confiscation of property, or the court ruled that the property had to be confiscated, but it was later overturned by the Ministry of National Defense, or that records did not indicate that the property was confiscated through unlawful acts of the state, the foundation said.
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