President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that academics are working to include Aboriginal perspectives into the discourse on the 228 Incident, now that discussion of the massacre is no longer taboo.
Tsai made the remarks in a speech at a forum on the 228 Incident and Taiwanese Aborigines at the Academia Historica in Taipei.
The 228 Incident refers to an uprising in 1947 against the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime and the resulting crackdown that left thousands dead and led to nearly four decades of martial law.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Aboriginal groups’ response to the massacre differed by community and region, indicating that the Incident is not a simple case of ethnic conflict, Tsai said.
New research conducted by the Academia Historica has discovered that the crackdown claimed many Aborigines and some Aboriginal leaders had strived to de-escalate the violence, she added.
The diversification of the nation’s historical memory that is inclusive of the experiences of all ethnic groups is part of the process for Taiwan’s reckoning with the 228 Incident and with historical truth, which are necessary to achieve transitional justice, she said.
“Confronting history honestly is the way for Taiwan to stay free and democratic, to never again permit the mistakes of the past to recur and to keep alive the hope for a better future,” Tsai said.
Academia Historica President Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深) said that the institute and its local depositories’ work to delve into rediscovered historical material has borne fruit, including the publication of a paper entitled “The 228 Incident in the Countryside” last year.
Evidence of Aboriginal collaboration and resistance can be seen in historical records of the 228 Incident, he said.
While a small minority of Aborigines joined the anti-government resistance in central Taiwan, Aboriginal communities in the south were split between collaboration and resistance, notably in Alishan (阿里山), and those in the east remained neutral, he said.
The Tsai administration has made strides in Aboriginal rights, Council of Indigenous Peoples Minister Icyang Parod said, citing the Indigenous Languages Development Act (原住民族語言發展法) and nuclear waste disposal compensation to residents of Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼).
In other news, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) will not attend a 228 Incident event planned by the Taipei City Government, Taipei Deputy Mayor Tsai Ping-kun (蔡炳坤) confirmed on Wednesday.
Lai withdrew from the event due to a scheduling conflict and not because the city has also invited former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), he said.
Lai had informed the city government of his decision before Taiwan National Alliance said it would boycott the event to protest Ma’s appearance, he said.
However, alliance chairman Lee Pang-fu (李邦孚) said that Lai withdrew from the event shortly after the group told him of the boycott.
Additional reporting by Su Yong-yao
‘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