President-elect William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said he would work to safeguard the nation’s security and democracy to ensure freedom and economic prosperity, and that the tragic events of the 228 Incident “never happen in Taiwan again.”
The Incident refers to the indiscriminate killing of a person in a crowd on Feb. 27, 1947, and the gunning down by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government of protesters at a resulting demonstration the next day. It was followed by a brutal crackdown. Estimates of the number of eventual deaths vary from 10,000 to more than 30,000.
The Incident was closely followed by the White Terror era in Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
Lai told a commemoration ceremony for the Incident in Tainan that the aftermath of the massacre was like a dark cloud hanging over Taiwan.
However, “the sun prevailed in the end, penetrating the clouds for everyone in Taiwan to enjoy the sunshine,” he told the people gathered at the ceremony, hosted by Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) at Sinying 228 Memorial Park.
After his address, Lai laid flowers at the park’s 228 monument. He was followed by families of victims who laid bouquets of Taiwanese lilies in remembrance of their loved ones on the 77th anniversary of the Incident.
Lai said that when his administration takes office in May, it would take up three main tasks to address unresolved issues related to the Incident.
“First, we shall unify this nation and rally people together to safeguard Taiwan, to ensure our nation has peace, security and democracy, and can enjoy economic prosperity,” he said. “We must never again allow the tragic events of the 228 Incident to happen in Taiwan... Let us ensure that all Taiwanese are free to choose their professions, and are free to live and enjoy life as they wish.”
Second, his administration would push legislation related to the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice (促進轉型正義條例).
“We must learn and reflect on the 228 Incident to better understand the history and what took place at that time. We must rebuild our nation and society to promote social harmony and empathy. Then the nation can be strengthened through the inclusiveness of its diversity,” he said.
“Third, we should expand programs to redress, compensate and look after 228 Incident victims and their families. We shall have an open government, to investigate and uncover facts relating to the 228 Incident to reveal what happened. This is to prevent the distortion and falsification of information, which would cause further suffering and stigmatize victims and their families,” he added.
Huang told the ceremony that Feb. 28 is a time to remember.
“It is a day of pain and suffering for many Taiwanese, and now it is also a day to demand justice and redress. We lived through authoritarian one-party rule and walked the road to democracy. We insisted on revealing the truth and seeking justice, while ensuring Taiwanese never forget the lessons of history.”
“We may forgive the pain and suffering, but we must never forget the lessons of the 228 Incident... We must always remember the suffering and sacrifice of Taiwan’s many democracy pioneers who fought against the authoritarian regime. If not for them, we would not have the freedom, democracy and rule of law we enjoy today,” he said.
Democratic Progressive Party legislators from Tainan — including Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲), Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) and Lai Hui-yuan (賴惠員) — joined Lai and Huang at the ceremony, together with city councilors and co-organizers the Tainan 228 Care Association (台南市二二八關懷協會) and Tainan 228 Justice and Peace Salvation Association (台南二二八公義和平救世會).
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