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.
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military