Telling others about their traumatic experiences is a healing process for the families of victims of the 228 Incident, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu said yesterday.
Tutu, the former primate of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, made the remarks when visiting Machangding (
The 228 Incident was an uprising against the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration under dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
Machangding Memorial Park is where the KMT executed political prisoners during the White Terror era in the 1950s.
Tutu is visiting the country at the invitation of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
When meeting the family members of the 288 victims, Tutu said that he had not come to Taiwan to educate people on how to solve problems caused by the tragedy. He said he wanted to hear stories from the incident and advised that facing the truth humbly could be a way of dealing with it.
Establishing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was one way that South Africa was able to cope with its racial persecution, he said. Understanding a tragic past can help people face trauma, he added.
"I think it is good therapy for the family members to tell their stories. And finding out the truth from those stories is a key to heal the wound," Tutu said, adding that the government has the responsibility of finding the truth, which is an essential element of reconciliation and forgiveness.
Tutu said that he has seen many South Africans who have suffered from apartheid that are filled with anger, wanting to take revenge. But the sufferers in Taiwan look genial and peaceful.
"I hope [the 228 victims] know that their unfortunate experiences have brought democracy, human rights and freedom to today's Taiwan," he said.
Boraine said that Taiwan and South Africa have similar tragic histories, but they both have just and peaceful voices. He also stressed that pursuing truth can bring hope to people, although it is not an easy path.
"Truth is just like herbal medicine. It tastes bitter but it can heal the past," Boraine said.
Last night, Tutu met former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Lin I-hsiung (
Lin's mother and twin daughters were murdered on Feb. 28, 1980, while he was in jail for his involvement in the Kaohsiung Incident in December 1979, a pro-human rights rally that turned violent. The murders remain unsolved.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
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 —
RSS