President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday vowed to uncover the truth behind the killings in the 228 Massacre and defend human rights in an effort to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
“I will continue to pay attention to the 228 Incident and care about the families of the people killed no matter what role I take on. The government’s efforts to protect human rights and act in accordance with the law will not stop. We will not allow similar incidents to happen again,” he said in a speech at a memorial ceremony in Taipei’s 228 Memorial Park.
People and families affected by the 228 Massacre are invited to the annual ceremony in Taipei.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Ma, accompanied by Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and government officials, led guests at the ceremony in a moment of silence in honor of the people killed in the 228 Incident.
Ma, who has promoted efforts to bring reconciliation between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and families affected by the 228 Incident since serving as Taipei mayor, said he has attended memorial events over the past 20 years and that the efforts to offer a proper apology and uncover the truth would continue.
“Historical mistakes can be forgiven, but truths cannot be forgotten. I have asked the KMT’s history center to search for related documents about the incident to help uncover the truth,” he said.
Earlier yesterday, Ma addressed a state ceremony held in Hualien County to mark the event.
Before the ceremony, Ma led government officials to pay tribute as he laid a wreath at the tomb of Chang Chi-lang (張七郎), who was killed in the 228 Incident, and apologized to Chang’s family over his killing.
Having visited Chang’s grave three times to pay his condolences, Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, said the party accepts responsibility for the death.
Chang was a National Assembly member who was killed by the then-KMT troops in the aftermath of the 228 Incident. His two sons were practicing medicine at a hospital their father founded in Fonglin Township (鳳林), Hualien County. They were also executed by the KMT after being accused of “betraying the party and the country” and “organizing assassinations.”
Chang’s grandson, Chang An-man (張安滿), thanked Ma for his efforts, but expressed frustration over the government’s definition of the 228 Incident as a civil uprising against the government. He said his grandfather did not oppose the government and was killed over groundless accusations.
“The government’s definition is a self-deception. If the government cannot face the truth, it will not find the path to reality,” he said.
Ma said he understood that the suffering and pain of the people killed in the incident and their family members could not be erased, and pledged to reveal the truth.
“We should work harder to uncover the truths behind the 228 Incident, and there should be no taboos or off-limits areas. I will spare no effort to reveal the truth,” he said.
Yesterday marked the 67th anniversary of the 228 Massacre, which refers to a brutal crackdown by the then-KMT regime starting on Feb. 27, 1947, against tens of thousands of Taiwanese, many of them among the intellectual elite. The incident led to nearly four decades of martial law in Taiwan.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS