Religion is the greatest force to usher change, the German and South African representatives to Taiwan said yesterday at a prayer meeting to mark the 71st anniversary of the 228 Incident.
The event, held at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Taipei, began with a prayer for the 228 Incident, with the organizers saying that the truth about the Incident has yet to be revealed and continues to cast a shadow over the nation.
German Institute Director-General Martin Eberts said that church members played an important role as just and unyielding social figures when Nazis ruled Germany during World War II and Communists ruled East Germany.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
It was the church that helped unite people in those societies, Eberts said, adding that the non-violent way in which it conducted itself to achieve social unity won the church greater support.
South African Representative Robert Matsebe talked about the importance of reflecting on history, citing how his nation’s apartheid regime caused many deaths.
History should not be allowed to repeat itself and it is very important to clarify what responsibilities the aggressors should shoulder, Matsebe said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Victims must be cared for and perpetrators punished, he added.
Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) was also at the prayer meeting.
The 228 Incident refers to an uprising that began on Feb. 27, 1947, and was violently suppressed by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime. The resulting brutal crackdown left tens of thousands dead and led to nearly four decades of martial law.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to