This year, 228 Memorial Day saw a memorable and meaningful commemoration. Yesterday was a most touching scene as people of Taiwan formed a human chain from one end of the island to the other and then held up their hands at precisely 2:28 pm. Rather than feeling hatred and vengeful, the message that the people tried to get across to the world is their love and faith in their land and their longing for peace. This was despite the tragic massacres and bloodshed perpetrated 57 years ago by the totalitarian Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government, which served as a prelude to decades of white terror and the martial-law era.
Vice President Annette Lu (
The 228 experience taught us the importance of democracy and freedom and the ruthlessness of single-party totalitarianism. The people of Taiwan will never give up the fruits of democracy and embrace the dictatorship of Beijing. The sovereignty of this country must be safeguarded. The experience also revealed to us the evil of unchecked aggression. Therefore, the people of Taiwan must call for peace and say "no" to Chinese missiles.
Moreover, it is the wish of the organizers and the participants of the event to unequivocally teach not only China, but in fact the entire world the valuable lessons they have learned, so that Beijing can no longer deceive the international community about what is the will of the people of Taiwan.
The lessons of the 228 Incident are heartfelt by the people of Taiwan, and have become a part of their core values. This was reflected by the overwhelming and enthusiastic participation in the rally yesterday. It was estimated that 500,000 people would have been enough to form the human chain. At the end, according to the chairman of the rally, Huang Chao-tung (
However, it is truly puzzling how some people, mostly supporters of the pan-blues, could paint the holding of the rally as inciting and manipulating ethnic rivalry and hatred. For example, as late as on Friday, the Miaoli campaign headquarters of pan-blue presidential candidate and KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
While it is true that in the past many people in Taiwan perceived the 228 Incident as a massacre of native Taiwanese by the ruling Chinese regime, people in Taiwan -- across all ethnic groups -- have come to realize that such an interpretation is an over-simplified depiction of the tragedy. Everyone who lives here is Taiwanese. In fact, it was the intention of the organizers to highlight the theme of ethnic harmony and unity through this rally -- as demonstrated by the participation of people from every ethnic group in the rally and the invitation of representatives from the five major ethnic groups in Taiwan to stand next to Chen and Lee in the event.
The 228 Incident should not be a taboo or a hush-hush topic -- the way it was treated before Lee openly issued an apology for it during his presidency. It is part of Taiwan's history that must be faced with love and tolerance, which is exactly what this rally was about.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
RSS