Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), during a ceremony to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the 228 Incident yesterday, called for an end to “mistakes in history” and for the establishment of Taiwan as an “authentically free and democratic” nation.
With police ubiquitous near entrances and barbed wire ringing park walls, a solemn crowd of several hundred gathered in front of the 228 Memorial Monument, with most participants quietly holding up white chrysanthemums to symbolize mourning for the 228 victims.
Strong political symbolism infused the service, which was conducted in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) and attended by many prominent pan-green politicians.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“It’s only been a little more than 20 years since authoritarian rule ended in Taiwan, and we have yet to achieve complete success in transitional justice and locally oriented education, as well as our efforts in seeking fairness and justice, and we’re often met with challenges from conservatives,” Tsai said.
“I would like to promise all of you here that if the DPP has another chance to be in power, we will face these challenges bravely, seriously pushing for transitional justice, democratic education and social justice, so that democracy in Taiwan will be more progressive and strong, so that more young people will have the opportunity to be more familiar with Taiwan, and to have a better understanding of our past,” she added.
“Each one of us Taiwanese has a mission: We should put an end to all mistakes in history and, for generations to come, we will make Taiwan an authentically free and democratic country,” she said.
Taiwan Nation Alliance chairman Wu Shu-min (吳樹民) echoed Tsai’s statement, voicing his expectation that Tsai will lead Taiwanese in the search for transitional justice.
“I’m looking forward to Tsai having the opportunity to lead all Taiwanese in the realization of transitional justice next year, and to bestow justice on all 228 victims by discovering the full truth,” he said.
The ceremony opened with a singing of Taiwan the Green (台灣翠青), a Taiwanese Presbyterian Church hymn which has been promoted as Taiwan’s “national anthem” by many independence activists. Taiwanese composer Hsiao Tyzen (蕭泰然) — who passed away last week — set the hymn to music and included it in his 1947 Overture (一九四七序曲), composed in commemoration of the 228 Incident.
A memorial concert was also held, with participants sharing squid surimi (魷魚糜), the dish the family of several prominent victims were preparing when they were arrested.
Independent Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was notably absent, despite being listed as a memorial service speaker.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
RSS