China yesterday described 228 Incident protests as a ploy by Taiwanese independence forces to hijack commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the massacre.
The 228 Incident has become a rallying point for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which favors formal independence for the nation.
Then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) troops put down rioting sparked on Feb. 27, 1947, by a dispute between tobacco mnonpoly agents and an illegal cigarette vendor in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
The number “228” refers to the day the slaughter began in earnest.
It led to nationwide protests against the KMT, which two years later took refuge in Taiwan after losing the Chinese Civil War against the Chinese Communist Party and imposed martial law until 1987.
An Fengshan (安峰山), spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said the 228 Incident was a “just action” by Taiwanese against a dictatorship and to fight for their basic rights.
“It is part of the Chinese people’s liberation struggle,” An told a regular news briefing in Beijing. “For a long time, this incident has been used by certain Taiwanese independence forces for ulterior motives.”
“They have distorted historical fact, instigated contradictions based on provincial origin, tearing at Taiwan’s ethnic groups, creating antagonism in society,” An said. “I think the motives behind this are really despicable.”
An made the remarks after his announcement earlier this month that Chinese government departments are to hold events to commemorate the 228 Incident’s 70th anniversary this year.
An said that to his knowledge, such events would include a forum to be organized by China’s Taiwan Democratic Self-government League today.
Feb. 28 is a national holiday in Taiwan, marked by solemn ceremonies for those killed in the 228 Incident and affirmations from politicians for the nation’s vibrant democracy.
China is deeply suspicious of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who was elected last year, suspecting that she and her party want to push for formal independence.
Tsai says she wants to maintain peaceful relations with China.
An yesterday also defended the deportation of Taiwanese involved in overseas telecom fraud cases to China as having won widespread international approval after Taiwan protested against Spain’s recent decision to deport about 200.
Asked about the Spanish case, An said the decision was taken in part because both the victims and evidence relating to the fraud were in China.
“This course of action has received widespread approval from people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and the international community,” he said.
The Spanish case is the latest involving Taiwanese abroad suspected of telecom fraud against China being rounded up with Chinese nationals and sent to China, angering Taipei.
The Spanish government on Friday last week said it had approved the extradition of 269 “Chinese citizens” as part of a year-long investigation into an Internet fraud ring operated from several Spanish cities, including Madrid and Barcelona.
Additional reporting by CNA
The coast guard drove away 567 Chinese boats and seized seven illegally operating in Taiwanese waters in the first six months of this year, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. They mostly operated near Kinmen and Penghu counties, resulting in fines totaling NT$1.7 million (US$52,440), it said. Three ships — two near Kinmen County and one near Penghu County — were detained in January for illegally crossing the border, while one ship each was detained near Kinmen in February and Penghu in March respectively, it said. The ship seized near Penghu in January was the Yun Ao (雲澳), detained by the CGA’s
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant
Beijing’s recent provocative actions against the Philippines in the South China Sea were partly meant as a “dress rehearsal” for the invasion of Taiwan, former US deputy national security advisor Matt Pottinger said at a Heritage Foundation forum in Washington on Tuesday. Beijing’s blocking of a Philippine resupply mission on June 17 with unprecedented violence had multiple implications. “What they’re doing is trying to demonstrate that they can blockade, create a sense of futility and discredit the idea that the United States is going to help not only the Philippines, but by extension Taiwan,” Pottinger said. Pottinger was referring to a clash