President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday laid out goals for the Transitional Justice Commission during a ceremony in Taipei for 100 victims of political persecution who have received pardons.
Speaking at the ceremony, Tsai said she hoped the commission could speed up investigations into political persecutions, uncover facts surrounding the events of the White Terror era, compensate victims or their families, eliminate symbols of authoritarianism and care for surviving victims.
Transitional justice has been crucial to strengthening Taiwan’s democracy, she said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
“This is our mission, and we must accomplish it together,” she said.
Tsai apologized to the victims for their long wait for justice.
The ceremony commemorated the repeal of 105 charges against 100 people, 26 of whom have not yet received compensation.
The commission’s efforts over the past three years — during which it has been collecting evidence on cases compiled into a database — was a “race against time,” Tsai said.
The commission has removed or relocated more than 400 symbols of authoritarianism, and is establishing a legal framework for the conservation of historic relics deemed symbols of injustice, she said.
Helping to rebuild trust among older Taiwanese was important to the commission’s efforts, she said, adding that the commission was reaching out to them through social activities and online programs.
The commission was also working with long-term care providers to help people who lived through the era to recognize the signs of trauma from political violence, she said.
Although cases were being reopened, uncovering accurate facts was a great challenge, given the passage of time, she said.
While it is difficult to identify or prosecute perpetrators of political persecution from the era, the commission would do its best to identify the harm done to victims, and use that information to establish politically just policies and legal systems, and to compensate them, she said.
All arms of the government have a responsibility to participate, she added.
Award-winning Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) pop singer Hsieh Ming-yu (謝銘祐) performed at the ceremony, which was also attended by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and commission Chairwoman Yang Tsui (楊翠).
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
RSS