The future transitional justice promotion committee is to prioritize the establishment of a national political archive, committee chairman nominee Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) said.
The Executive Yuan on Friday delivered files on the nine committee member nominees to the Legislative Yuan for review.
In his file, Huang said that under his leadership, the committee would work closely with the National Archives Administration to expedite the disclosure of classified political files.
The committee would pour resources into collating overseas political data, Huang said, adding that he hopes that the committee would be able to share its files with the archives agency, the Academia Historica and the National Human Rights Museum.
Another priority is to commission experts to compile an investigative report aimed at “uncovering the truth” about incidents that occurred during the authoritarian era, the documents said.
A team of law, politics, history, social science and human rights experts would write the report, which would not only outline history, but also define the “red line” on human rights that should never be crossed by those in power, Huang said.
Committee member nominee Yang Tsui (楊翠) said in her file that there should not be forgiveness without also holding perpetrators responsible.
Victims should be given the opportunity to share their experiences so that their anguish can be felt by society and serve as a reminder of past mistakes, Yang said, adding that only then could reconciliation be attained.
Committee member nominee Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈) said that the vast majority of Taiwanese have a linear assumption that Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and their agents were the main perpetrators of human rights violations.
The committee’s work should include identifying perpetrators within the system and determining their accountability, Yeh said.
Committee member nominee Hsu Hsueh-chi (許雪姬), an expert on interpreting files from the White Terror period, said it is important that the context in which political files were created be taken into account to avoid causing victims or their families more pain.
Although Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) political files that predate World War II are not legally required to be collected, they might help people gain insight into post-war Taiwan, Hsu said.
Only when perpetrators and victims can agree to work together to establish historical facts in the name of promoting human rights and social justice can there truly be mutual trust, committee member nominee Hua Yih-fen (花亦芬) said.
Society has been quick to impose the concept of “live and let live” on the two groups, but it no longer fits today’s society, she added.
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