The scandal over the military police’s alleged violations of civilians’ rights with an illegal detention and search of a private residence took a surprising turn when a man surnamed Hu (胡) said he has a collection of more than 1,000 White Terror-era documents, and asked the Ministry of National Defense (MND) to contact him.
“It was meaningless for the military police to search Wei’s house. There are more of these documents in my hands,” said Hu, who is a consultant for the Taiwanese Web site “Rebirth.com” (再生.com) which specializes in the sale of antiques, valuable cultural items and historical materials.
The military police detained and questioned Wei last month, then went to his home, seizing three documents, which Wei had put up for sale on the Web site.
Photo: CNA
Among Hu’s collection were documents relating to the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government’s conspiracy case against General Sun Li-jen (孫立人) and persecution of prominent KMT politician Lei Chen (雷震), Hu said.
Besides the files on Sun and Lei from the 1950s, Hu said he has more than 1,000 documents from the White Terror era, mostly once-classified material from the KMT’s military and intelligence apparatus, whose investigations led to the arrest, torture, imprisonment and death of dissidents, political activists and suspected communist spies during the four decades of martial law under the authoritarian rule of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son, former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
Among his collection were photographs of prisoners in their final hours, with their names, taken just before their execution, which researchers said is valuable historical material and should be put in a protected depository at the National Archives or at Academia Sinica.
“People from Academia Sinica and other institutions have bought materials from me in the past. I am a law-abiding businessman and I will not make problems for the military. If MND officials contact me, I am willing to reveal in public all the material in my collection,” Hu said, adding that he was not sure why the MND and the military police took such an avid interest in tracking down the three documents offered for sale by Wei.
Hu said that he obtained all the documents legally, some from private collectors and others at auctions, paying more than NT$100,000 for some, while others were offered to him.
“We always try to authenticate the materials, as some turn out to be fakes, while some are stolen goods,” Hu said.
MND spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said the seller should get in touch with the defense ministry on his own, because it would not be appropriate for the ministry to contact Hu, as the public might suspect harassment and White Terror-era tactics against a private citizen.
“It is best to hand the materials to judicial agencies or the police for their handling, then they can be examined by experts for their authenticity. The MND would also provide assistance in this work, because we are not certain if these documents have been declassified, and to determine which agencies they had came from, and others might involved personal privacy issues for the affected individuals,” Lo said.
However, political commentator Chung Nien-huang (鍾年晃) urged Hu not to hand the documents over to the ministry or its related agencies, because they would most likely be destroyed, as the KMT and military officials have a vested interest in destroying all evidence of its killing of tens of thousands of Taiwanese during the White Terror era and the 228 Massacre.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS