The question of the degree to which the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) should shoulder responsibility for the 228 Incident is to be ruled on in the Taiwan High Court on March 9.
The Taipei District Court has already rejected a case brought by the families of 108 victims, ruling that the massacre was ordered by the government of the day and was unrelated to the KMT per se.
Several academics yesterday expressed disagreement with the district court’s decision, saying that the 228 Incident occurred during the Period of Political Tutelage (訓政時期) in which the five branches of government all answered directly to the KMT -Central Executive Committee (CEC). According to this interpretation, the KMT is directly responsible.
Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), a professor of history at National Chengchi University, told a seminar held by the Taiwan Association of University Professors on the KMT’s role in the 228 Incident that the government has already apologized and paid compensation, but questions remain about the KMT’s role.
Hsueh said that at the time of the 228 Incident, the Constitution had already been written but not yet implemented, as Taiwan was still in the Period of Political Tutelage.
The Organic Act of the Government of the Republic of China (國民政府組織法) states that prior to the implementation of the Constitution, the five branches of government were each the responsibility of the KMT’s CEC.
Even though the head of the nation has already offered an apology for the massacre, the KMT was in charge of the government of the day, so it should take responsibility for that government’s actions, he said.
Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深), an associate researcher at the Institute of Modern History at Academia Sinica, questioned how the 228 Memorial Hall could say the president of the time, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), had shown leniency in his handling of the incident.
He cited a March 13, 1947, telegram that Chiang sent, -warning that military and government personnel should avoid taking vengeance on the people or face “severe punishment.”
However, Chen produced correspondence between Chiang and then-executive administrator of Taiwan Chen Yi (陳儀) clarifying the sequence of events.
It suggested that Huang Chao-qin (黃朝琴), head of the Taiwan Provincial Council, had asked -Chiang on March 6 to send a senior official to Taiwan to deal with the situation, but that Chiang had already made the decision on March 5 to send the army to Taiwan to quell the unrest, Chen Yi-shen said.
Chiang only sent the telegram warning of “severe punishment” after the army had already arrived in Taiwan on March 8 and begun the massacre, he added.
Chen Yi-shen said that not one single military or political leader had ever been found guilty regarding the 228 Incident. Chiang made the commander of the Kaohsiung forces, Peng Meng-chi (彭孟緝), head of the Provincial Garrison Command.
The CEC initially relieved Chen Yi of his post, but Chiang intervened and invoked his presidential right to veto.
Viewed in this light, Chiang’s role does not sit well with the picture of magnanimity painted by the National 228 Memorial Hall, he said.
Wellington Koo (顧立雄), the lawyer of the families of the 108 victims who brought the case to the Taipei District Court on the anniversary of the massacre last year, said they were asking for an apology to be printed in Chinese-language newspapers in Taiwan and overseas publications, such as the New York Times.
They also sought a donation of NT$2 billion (US$67 million) to be made to the National 228 Memorial Hall in compensation.
They were also asking for files related to the massacre to be handed over to the National Archives Administration.
The case was rejected last August on the grounds that the government of the day had been carrying out its public duties and that it could not be proven present party members were connected with the officials of the day.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of