A group of artists commemorated 228 Memorial Day yesterday by staging an art fair with the theme "Who slaughters justice?"
"Who slaughters justice? It's not the brutal rulers of the 228 massacre, but the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT], which destroyed visual records of the incident during the White Terror," said Chen Chin-huang (陳錦煌), the head of the 228 Incident Memorial Foundation.
The scarcity of documentation has led some Taiwanese to doubt whether the incident happened, he said, which is why the foundation has organized the fair to bring history to life and to raise public awareness of the fact that justice still has not been served.
On Feb. 27, 1947, the arrest of a cigarette vendor in Taipei led to large-scale protests by Taiwanese people against the corruption and repression of the KMT regime.
Dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
Historians estimate that some 20,000 people were killed during the crackdown that followed.
"Why is an event that resulted in so many deaths toned down with the term `Incident' instead of `Massacre?' Why do some people think any discussion of the issue is a move to provoke `ethnic tensions?' Why is the younger generation of this country not concerned?" Chen Chin-huang said.
He said Chiang's implementation of martial law, which lasted for 38 years, was to blame for the truth being swept under the carpet and it being turned into a highly taboo subject.
In addition to exhibiting 20 pieces of artwork showing the military using violence against protesters -- some of which were done by survivors of the massacre -- the foundation invited seven artists to create new works for the fair.
The exhibit also included an outline of the events that led up to and followed the violence on Feb. 28, 1947, including what triggered the protests, how they spread across Taiwan, how they were quelled and the aftermath, including strict government regulation and surveillance of society.
One section of the exhibit includes information about massacres and violent crackdowns in other countries: the pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, South Korea, in 1980, the 1915 to 1918 Armenian Genocide in Turkey, the Holocaust and the widespread abuses during apartheid in South Africa.
The exhibit's organizers said they hoped the information would highlight the process of transitional justice and offer a comparison between efforts toward reconciliation abroad and in Taiwan.
Invited to give the opening speech, President Chen Shui-bian (
Such people talk a lot about the need for "ethnic harmony," he said, using it as a reason not to face up to the deeds of the authoritarian regime.
The exhibition, taking place at 228 National Memorial Hall in Taipei, will run until the end of March from 9:30am to 5:30pm from Tuesdays to Sundays and will be closed on Mondays.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as