President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday renewed his pledge to uncover the truth behind the 228 Massacre and promised to promote human rights as a universal value that is emphasized by the historical tragedy.
Ma, delivering a speech in Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) at a ceremony in front of the 228 Monument at the 228 Peace Memorial Park in Taipei, apologized to victims and their families for the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime’s bloody crackdown on civilians, and said he expected continued efforts to uncover the truth to transform the tragedy into an asset for later generations.
“The history was once gloomy with fears casting shadows above us, but democracy will illuminate the dust-laden files and the truth will be uncovered and written one day,” he said before bowing to the crowd.
He attributed the massacre to civilians’ uprising against a corrupt government and promised to build a clean government that promotes freedom, human rights and democracy.
Families of the massacre victims who attended the memorial called for more emphasis on human rights from the government and said their pain would not be eased unless the truth is uncovered and the importance of human rights is stressed.
“The economy can have ups and downs, but not human rights. There should be no limits on the development of human rights,” said Pan Ying-ren (潘英仁), whose father was shot dead during the massacre.
Ma said the government has evaluated more than 8 million pages of related files and documents as part of efforts to uncover the truth of the 228 Incident and ensuing massacre, and that the work of seeking delayed justice for all political victims would continue.
He then returned personal letters and documents from four massacre victims to their family members at the end of the ceremony.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), son of former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村), was the focus of the ceremony in light of recent protests against his father’s comments about the death toll from the massacre.
In an opinion piece in the Chinese-language United Daily News on Tuesday last week, Hau Pei-tsun challenged the content of a history textbook that stated that more than 10,000 people were killed during the massacre and said that only a little more than 500 people were killed in the crackdown.
His piece drew a strong reaction from victims’ families, who criticized the former premier for what they said was distorting the truth.
When asked yesterday by the press for comments on his father’s claims, Hau Lung-bin called for recognition of the historical tragedy and continuous promotion of human rights and democracy.
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
RSS