Civic groups and hundreds of participants marched through the streets of Taipei to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the 228 Incident, with music and street performances occurring at the Executive Yuan building, ending with a scattering of flower petals to symbolize hope for a brighter future for younger generations.
The day’s main organizers were the Nylon Cheng Liberty Foundation along with more than 50 civil society organizations.
The events began at the Tianma Tea House (天馬茶房) in Taipei’s Datong District (大同), the site of conflict that sparked the Incident in February 1947.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Organizers in a statement made three requests of the government: to complete the transitional justice process, to remove all symbols of authoritarianism, and to build a new Taiwanese nation as it fights Chinese imperialism.
People marched through the streets and drove vehicles adorned with the names of people who were killed in the Incident, with the procession terminating in front of the Executive Yuan. Members of the Seek Truth and Justice for Victims of 228 Incident advocacy group addressed the crowd, followed by dancers and musicians performing street theater choreographed by the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Research Institute.
Three white banners were laid on the ground, with performers expressing words and feelings in sign language, as people scattered woven colored cloth emulating periwinkle flower petals.
The banners represented the Taiwan homeland and its fertile land, and the petal imagery coming from the works of Taiwanese writers who have referred to the periwinkle flower’s year-round bloom, said Koeh Jun-teng (郭潤庭) of the advocacy group From Ethnos To Nation.
“The performance represented the fear and despair as people were silenced after the 228 events and throughout the White Terror era, but they passed stories of what they witnessed in private,” Koeh said.
“The scattering of periwinkle petals represented the blooming that Taiwanese people hope for as they aspire to overcome fear,” she added.
Solemn music was played by accordion among the cloth petals in remembrance of the thousands of people who were killed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) authoritarian regime.
Lawyer Lee Sheng-shung (李勝雄) and Chen Yung-hsing (陳永興), led the march. They along with Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕) cofounded the 228 Peace Day Association. Democracy advocates followed behind the duo.
The first marches to commemorate the Incident were held in Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Changhua in 1987, despite bans against such demonstrations at the end of Taiwan’s martial law era.
Lee said that the KMT government at the time tried to stop the marches by deploying hundreds of riot police and plainclothes agents who put up barriers.
Conflict broke out, with the largest clash occurring in Changhua, as police used truncheons to beat participants.
Lee said that he sustained injuries and bled profusely after being hit several times on the head.
In his address to the crowd, Lee said that Taiwanese are still waiting for truth and justice 75 years after the 228 Incident.
“We demand that all statues of [former president] Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) be removed, and to dismantle his memorial hall in Taipei. It is time to stop worshiping a dictator who was responsible for killings of Taiwanese people during the 228 Incident,” Lee said.
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