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.
‘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 High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and