A group of young people participating in a forum on transitional justice yesterday urged schools to introduce teaching materials on the history and background of the 228 Incident.
The 228 Incident refers to a military crackdown by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration on civilian protesters that started on Feb. 27, 1947. Historians estimate that as many as 30,000 people were killed.
“Growing up, our generation only knew of Feb. 28 as a holiday, and we were just happy to have the day off from school, since teachers did not talk much about what had happened during the 228 Incident of 1947,” National Taiwan University College of Medicine student Chang Min-chao (張閔喬) told the forum.
“Only when I entered university did I have more exposure to literature and documents about that period, and the subsequent decades of White Terror rule by the KMT government. Reading the oral histories and interviews as told by victims’ families, I could feel their years-long fear, pain and suffering,” she said.
“We knew nothing about this through primary and secondary school, but it is important for students to know and understand this part of Taiwanese history,” Chang added.
A desire to learn more about that period led campaigner Tsai Yu-an (蔡喻安) to organize the Gongsheng Music Festival (共生音樂節) five years ago, which is this year to feature educational activities, musical performances and an outdoor exhibition on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei after a noontime march from the Executive Yuan on Tuesday.
“We started the event through student networking to attract young people to participate and learn more about the 228 Incident. We publish a booklet each year containing photographs and stories to relate young people to this Incident and get them involved in our work,” said Tsai, a graduate student at NTU.
Tsai said she has seen many young people realize the importance of Incident and how it affected Taiwan’s development.
“Many of them are hungry for more information, to read books and stories about that part of history, and to talk to the older generation about the White Terror era and the struggle for democracy,” she said.
Northern Taiwan Society deputy director Lee Chuan-hsin (李川信) said many young people in recent years have demanded the removal of statues of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and other symbols of the KMT’s authoritarian regime.
“We all know Chiang Kai-shek was the supreme KMT leader who made all decisions and was responsible for the massacres and atrocities following Feb. 28, 1947, but Chiang’s statues are still found in many schools and some people still revere him, paying respect to him year after year,” Lee said.
“It is time to end the blind cult of personality around this ruthless dictator. When worship of Chiang is terminated, then can we have real transitional justice in Taiwan,” Lee added.
The forum was hosted by the Northern Taiwan Society, the Union of Taiwanese Teachers, the Hakka Society and the Ketagalan Foundation.
‘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 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS