President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday promised to strengthen efforts to compensate victims of past political persecution and pledged to seek peace across the Taiwan Strait to create a peaceful environment and prevent any situation that might lead to the re-establishment of martial law.
“Martial law existed in Taiwan because of the wars between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party ... The only way to prevent martial law from being established again is to prevent war. Seeking peace across the Taiwan Strait, therefore, is one of the highest goals for the government,” Ma said while addressing a memorial ceremony at Jieshou Park for the White Terror victims.
The event commemorated the 22nd anniversary of the lifting of martial law. Dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) declared martial law on May 19, 1949, and it came into effect the next day. The declaration ushered in the White Terror era and was not lifted until July 15, 1987.
PHOTO: CNA
Ma yesterday said there was only one standard for human rights, and all civilians should be given equal human rights regardless of their ethnicity or political affiliation.
He said that he was indicted two years ago over the mayoral allowance case, and that if he had been wrongly convicted, he would have had the same feelings as the victims of the White Terror era. Ma promised to spare no effort to defend human rights and prevent false cases in the judicial system.
Ma was indicted in February 2007 on a charge of embezzling NT$11 million (US$333,000) from his special mayoral allowance during his eight years in office. The Taipei District Court found him not guilty in August that same year.
Speaking at the same occasion, Lin Chih-chieh (林至潔), a representative of White Terror victims, urged the government to establish a national memorial hall and foundation to take better care of the victims and their families.
“We expect the government to treat the victims of the 228 Incident and the White Terror era equally. The government needs to recognize its mistakes, apologize, establish a memorial hall, provide compensation and restore our reputations,” she said.
Ma also promised to continue talking to victims and discuss possible measures to take care of them.
At a separate setting yesterday, when asked to comment on Ma’s comparison of the victims of White Terror to his mayoral fund indictment, Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said such a comparison would disappoint people.
Ma’s problem is that he does not feel or understand the deep fear, anxiety and terror that Taiwanese experienced for decades during the White Terror, Tsai said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS