In a speech marking the 57th anniversary of the 228 Incident yesterday, President Chen Shui-bian (
He highlighted the strengths shown by Taiwan's people in the years since the bloody uprising and subsequent suppression in 1947, stressed the common travails and destiny of all Taiwan's ethnic groups and declared that now was the time for all groups to "affirm their sovereignty" over the island.
"The people alone are sovereigns of this piece of land," Chen said. "Taiwan must always be its own sovereign."
The president made his remarks at a ceremony commemorating the nation's 2-28 Memorial Day on Hoping (peace) Island in Keelung City, northern Taiwan, where the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government landed its troops from China to begin its bloody suppression in 1947.
The 2-28 Incident was triggered after an armed agent of the Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau arrested an old woman selling contraband cigarettes on Feb. 27, 1947. Tens of thousands of people went to the streets to protest the KMT government's corruption and the protest finally became a riot. The government launched a military crackdown and thousands of people were killed or imprisoned in the following weeks.
Music played by trumpet and a string quartet began the solemn ceremony. Chen as well as the family members of some of the victims of the suppression observed a moment of silence for those who suffered in the 228 Incident.
Chen then led the family members in laying bouquets of flowers on a temporary monument on the stage in honor of the victims.
Earlier, the president had talked of how the 228 Incident had been a taboo subject for much of the last 57 years, but that he didn't see it as such. He called on people to reflect on the event with love, tolerance and introspection.
"With love for Taiwan, this nation and its people; with tolerance for history and each other; with introspection about the mistakes of the past and about ourselves; this should be our basic attitude toward the 228 Incident," he said.
Stressing ethnic harmony, Chen said that all the peoples of the island had suffered together, worked hard together and supported each other "under the same sun."
"Since we have come this far together, it should be said that the people of Taiwan are not forgetful, stupid or numb. Rather they are unrivaled in tolerance and courage," he said.
He reminded the audience that "for over 300 years, Taiwan was not a sovereign state and that the people of Taiwan were not the masters of their own household."
Nothing that Taiwan now enjoys, he said, was a gift from heaven or some occupying power, but the fruits of hard work on the part of the Taiwanese people.
Chen also paid tribute to China's role in Taiwan's culture and development, saying that affirming Taiwan's sovereignty did not mean "de-Sinicization."
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS