Although the government last year reopened investigations into two suspected political murder cases, researchers who read reports produced by the renewed probe yesterday suggested the endeavor was not sincere.
At the request of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ office reopened the investigations into the murder of former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Lin Yi-hsiung’s (林義雄) mother and twin daughters in 1980, and the death of professor Chen Wen-chen (陳文成) in 1981.
Lin’s family was murdered on Feb. 28, 1980, while he was being detained on charges of insurrection after co-organizing a demonstration against the authoritarian regime.
PHOTO: CNA
Lin’s mother and twin daughters were found stabbed to death at home, while his eldest daughter was seriously injured.
The perpetrator and motive were never established, but the killings are widely believed to have been politically motivated, with some suggesting security agencies were involved.
Chen’s death occurred the following year. A statistics professor at Carnegie Melon University, Chen returned to Taiwan in July 1981 to visit family.
As he had been a long-time supporter of the Taiwanese democracy movement, Chen was interrogated by the Taiwan Garrison Command, which led a crackdown on anti-government activities.
The next morning Chen was found dead on the campus of National Taiwan University.
Some suspected Chen was tortured to death by the Taiwan Garrison Command — allegations the agency denied.
The garrison command said Chen could have committed suicide or accidentally fallen off a balcony.
“We had high expectations when Ma announced the investigations into these cases would be reopened, but we were very disappointed when we read the report from the Taiwan High Prosecutor’s Office,” said Wu Nai-teh (吳乃德), a research fellow in sociology at Academia Sinica.
“The special investigation panel did not pursue the new evidence it had discovered. Maybe this shows what Ma really has in mind,” Wu told a forum organized by the Taiwan Association for Truth and Reconciliation.
In the case of Lin’s mother and daughters, the prosecutors found that the murderer made a phone call from Lin’s house to a restaurant after committing the crime, but did not say anything.
Although police knew about the call, that fact has been hidden for the past 30 years.
“The phone call may have been a signal from the killer to whoever ordered the murder of Lin’s family members, and could have been key evidence in breaking the case” Wu said. “The investigation panel could find something if it tried to find out why the phone call was concealed.”
In addition, instead of interviewing Lin’s neighbors and relatives — who may have been too scared to tell the truth 30 years ago — the investigation panel relied on interview material gathered in 1980, Wu said.
As for Chen’s case, attorney Arthur Shay (謝穎青) said he was disappointed that the panel had not looked into contradictions in the 1981 investigation report. The new report treated many questionable “facts” listed in the old report as accurate, Shay said.
“The [old] report says Chen fell from the east side of the library, but his body was found on the north side. It says no broken branches were found at the site, yet Chen would have fallen through bushes before hitting the ground on the north side if he fell from the east side as the report says,” Shay said.
Michael Lin (林世煜), an independent researcher into political persecution during the Martial Law era and a volunteer at the Dr Chen Wen-cheng Memorial Foundation, said the renewed investigations were not aimed at discovering the truth of the matter.
“They reopened the investigations only to close the cases,” Lin said. “They obviously just wanted to prove that security agencies were not behind [them].”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by