Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) were called “dictators’ offspring” and told to “get out” by a relative of a 228 Incident victim when they attended a memorial service in Taipei today.
The memorial service held by the Taipei City Government started at 2:28pm at the 228 Peace Memorial Park where participants paid tributes to the victims.
A woman shouted “dictator’s offspring” and “perpetrators’ offspring” at Chiang and told Ma to “get out” when they arrived.
Photo: Liu Hsin-te, Taipei Times
Choking back tears, the woman told reporters that her husband lost his father when he was 13 and she was unhappy at seeing perpetrators from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which both Ma and Chiang belong to, then left promptly.
Civic groups gathered outside the park during the memorial service, holding flags with messages like “face Taiwan’s historical truth,” “walk out of the dark and towards the light,” “228 massacre,” “console the deceased” and “remove the Chiang’s statues.”
One hundred and sixty police were deployed as the protestors walked around the park in bare feet and expressed their views about the 228 Incident.
People voicing support for the civic groups tried to enter the park but were surrounded by the police.
Some altercations took place but no further conflicts erupted.
Chiang apologized again to 228 Incident victims and their families in his speech during the memorial service.
“As Taipei mayor, I want to express my profound apologies to all the victims and their families for the 228 Incident,” he said.
This painful history has never gone away and it is our responsibility to reflect and remember it, he said.
The Taipei City Government would continue its efforts in human rights education and compile and disclose historical materials to enable this history to be passed on, he said.
The pain of the victims’ families cannot be lessened by only the government’s apology, compensation and building memorial statues, Ma said.
We should transform hatred into friendship, stay humble and be compassionate when we remember this event, he said, adding that people should tolerate and understand each other to promote “freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law” in Taiwan.
Family relatives of 228 Incident victims demanded truth, accountability and reconciliation as they spoke at the 78th anniversary ceremony at the National 228 Memorial Museum in Taipei earlier today.
Lee Hui-sheng (李慧生), whose grandfather went missing during the incident, called on the KMT to not evade the truth and seek reconciliation, stressing that the incident is a human rights issue, not a political one.
Education is the best way of national defense, especially human rights education, Lee said, hoping that more students can learn about this important part of Taiwan history.
There are still intellectuals who believe that the 228 Incident is an “ethnic totem” and a taboo which does not need to be commemorated, 228 Memorial Foundation Chairman Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元) said.
This is why further efforts should be made regarding transitional justice to clarify the truth – the incident was not an ethnic issue and no community has “original sin,” he said.
This is how Taiwanese can build a future together and reach a social consensus, he said.
“At this pivotal point in history, we should cherish peace and transitional justice and transform historical pain into social progress with concerted efforts,” he said.
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