Human rights groups are to hold a memorial march for the 228 Massacre, they said on Tuesday, urging Vice President and president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to give transitional justice bills a boost in the legislature.
Writing jointly in a news release, the Nylon Chen Liberty Foundation and Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Research Institute said that the special memorial march, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, is to mark the 77th anniversary of the incident.
The march is to take place in Taipei and other groups have expressed interest in attending the event, they said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The 228 Massacre refers to a mass shooting of protesters by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government on Feb. 28, 1947, that triggered bloody crackdowns on suspected dissidents across the island, inaugurating the White Terror era.
The groups said that they call upon the Legislative Yuan to implement transitional justice, adding that all political parties have a responsibility to deepen Taiwan’s democracy and defend its national sovereignty and human rights.
KMT lawmakers should confront the party’s historical mistakes, return the assets it illegitimately appropriated during the White Terror, and support the repurposing of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, they said.
The group said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should remain true to its stance on sovereignty and progressive values by continuing the party’s support of transitional justice legislation, adding that the Taiwan People’s Party can leverage its crucial minority towards this end.
Legislative efforts to hold persecutors accountable, protect historical sites connected to the White Terror and reform the management of the memorial have all stalled in the legislature, they said.
Breaking the gridlock would go a long way to healing historical wounds and bringing out a reconciliation between the nation’s ethnic groups and political parties, the groups said.
Last year’s partial passage of amendments to the Political Archives Act (政治檔案條例) and Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法) were a step in the right direction, but not enough to realize transparency, they said.
The national security establishment and other government offices controlling the archives are urged to follow disclosure rules and not fight the law, the groups said.
“The many unaccomplished tasks of transitional justice is worrying,” they said, adding that the DPP government and legislative caucus should release a roadmap or timetable for transitional justice bills.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by