The son of a New Zealander donated his father's manuscript titled Formosa Calling, Chronicle of Taiwan's 2-28 Incident, to the 228 Memorial Museum in Taipei yesterday, on the eve of the 53rd anniversary of the 1947 massacre.
"It's a great pleasure to donate this manuscript to the people of Taiwan. If my father were here today, I am sure he would be greatly honored," said 63-year-old Colin Shackleton at a ceremony held in the 228 Memorial Museum.
Also donated to the museum were his father's photos taken during his stay in Taiwan from 1946 to 1947, and the typewriter he used to produce the manuscript.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
At the ceremony, Lap Phok-bun (
"It's a very moving moment," said Colin Shackleton.
Allan James Shackleton wrote the manuscript about his post-war experiences in Taiwan as a UN rehabilitation officer. A portion of the manuscript focuses on his eye witness accounts of the 1947 tragedy, detailing atrocities that took place in southern Taiwan.
"He was concerned about the unfortunate things that took place at that time. But unfortunately nobody would publish the book, so the manuscript was simply a family file for almost 50 years," Colin Shackleton said.
It was not until 1998 that the original English version was published. Last June, the Mandarin version of the book was published in Taiwan. Wu Mi-cha (吳密察), a historian on Taiwan history at the National Taiwan University, said Shackleton's account of the massacre was of great value to researchers.
"Shackleton's book is a precious historic record made by a foreigner, a third party who wrote about what he saw merely out of conscience, an account that had nothing to do with his personal interest," Wu said.
The 228 Incident refers to the KMT's bloody crackdown on civilian demonstrations in 1947 that followed an incident in Taipei on Feb. 28 of that year. KMT-Led troops, who had retreated to Taiwan from China two years before after losing the Chinese Civil War, carried out a crackdown which led to the slaughter of tens of thousands of Taiwanese. The massacre is said to have wiped out almost all of Taiwan's intellectual middle class.
Stanley Liao (
"Through the Internet, I had been told of this manuscript. So I telephoned everyone with the surname Shackleton throughout New Zealand," Liao said.
The museum will hold a series of events and activities to commemorate the tragedy. For more information, please call the museum at (02) 2389-7228 or search the Internet at http://www.t228.gov.tw.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
RSS