Civic groups and victims’ families will take to the street today to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the 228 Incident, with the focus on former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), whose recent controversial remarks on the 228 Massacre have sparked heavy criticism.
Dozens of civic groups will join the victims’ families in the march under the theme of “self-salvation to protect Taiwan,” which will take them from Yongle Market (永樂市場) to the end point of Dadaocheng wharf (大稻埕碼頭), where they will release water lanterns to pay tribute to those who perished in the massacre that began in 1947.
In a violent suppression of anti-government uprisings that began on Feb. 28, 1947 — 16 months after the end of Japanese colonial rule — Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) troops killed between 18,000 and 30,000 people, the majority of them Taiwanese and including many leaders and intellectuals.
Photo: Yu Hsueh-lan, Taipei Times
The march, which is scheduled to begin at 2:28pm, will pass the former location of the Tianma Tea House (天馬茶房) on Nanjing W Road, where a government investigator shot a citizen to death, resulting in the uprising 65 years ago, before arriving at the wharf for a ceremony, said Taipei City 228 Justice Care Association president Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深), one of the organizers.
However, much attention in the march will be focused on Hau and Ma’s controversial comments.
Hau first sparked controversy with an op-ed piece in the Chinese--language United Daily News on Feb. 21 in which he said that no more than 1,000 people were killed in the massacre, a far cry from government-supported research that concluded more than 18,000 had been killed.
Ma dismissed Hau’s comments on Friday, but stirred up more criticism after he said “the focus of the [228] Incident is not on the number of people that were killed.”
Chen, Taiwan 228 Care Association chairman Chang Yen-hsien (張炎憲) and other civic group leaders are scheduled to respond to Hau and Ma’s comments.
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) is also scheduled to memorialize the dead and highlight Taiwan’s democratic movement in a speech.
Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will not attend the event.
The march will start a series of nationwide commemorative events, including a ceremony at Keelung Harbor on March 8, because the KMT troops landed in Keelung on March 8, 1947, and a second march on March 25 in Chiayi City, where people were publicly executed in front of the Chiayi Rail Station by KMT troops.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
RSS