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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Ma vows love, peace to heal wounds
Relatives of victims of the 228 Incident offer lilies during a commemorative ceremony at the National 228 Memorial Museum in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
UNDERSTANDING: Premier Simon Chang said that the release of more documents related to the 228 Incident give people the ability to explore and discuss the event
By Stacy Hsu / Staff reporter
President Ma Ying-jeou （馬英九） yesterday pledged to continue to promote love and peace to heal the wounds inflicted by the 228 Incident even after his presidential term ends in May, as he marked the 69th anniversary of one of the darkest chapters in Taiwan’s history, while a member of a victim’s family interrupted the event to protest.
The 228 Incident refers to an anti-government uprising that began on Feb. 27, 1947, and a series of bloody purges against civilians in subsequent months by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） regime.
The event marked the beginning of the White Terror era that saw tens of thousands of people arrested, imprisoned and executed.
In 1997, Feb. 28 was designated a national holiday.
Accompanied by Premier Simon Chang （張善政） and KMT Acting Chairperson Huang Min-hui （黃敏惠）, Ma attended a morning memorial ceremony at the National 228 Memorial Museum in Taipei to pay tribute to the victims of the massacre.
“Sixty-nine years ago today, the unfortunate Incident occurred in our beloved nation. Taiwan, to this day, continues to be affected by this event,” Ma said in his speech.
Ma said that upon his return to Taiwan in 1981 from studying in the US, where he learned more about the Incident, he resumed his post as the deputy director of the Presidential Office’s First Bureau.
When his superior at the time asked him what his plans were for the future, to which Ma said he replied: “We must redress the wrongs of the 228 Incident.”
Ma said he has since played a part in all efforts to compensate and seek justice for the Incident’s victims, including the promulgation of the Feb. 28 Incident Disposition and Compensation Act （二二八事件處理及賠償條例） in 1995 and the establishment of the government-funded Memorial Foundation of 228 that same year.
“As of today, the foundation, which was founded to deal with compensation and rehabilitation related to the 228 Incident, has approved 2,290 applications from families of victims and granted a total of NT$7.2 billion [US$215 million at current exchange rates] in compensation,” Ma said.
However, the healing process requires more than just compensation, an apology and the designation of Feb. 28 as a national holiday, Ma said.
“We must also feel deep down in our hearts the injustice behind the incident and engage in meaningful self-reflection,” Ma said.
“We need to make sure that such an event will not be repeated and work to promote ethnic harmony,” he added.
While yesterday was his last time commemorating the Incident as president, Ma said he would continue to promote harmony, love and peace in the future, regardless of his role after leaving office on May 20.
In his brief remarks, Chang said that the gradual declassification of Incident-related official documents to restore historical facts about the tragic event now allow Taiwanese to explore and discuss the massacre.
“In addition to mourning the deaths of victims and learning from the mistakes of the past, I also urge the public to help achieve collective transitional justice with tolerance and mutual trust, allowing people of different gender, faith and ethnicity to respect each other and coexist peacefully,” Chang said.
Hsu Kuang （徐光）, daughter of Incident victim Hsu Cheng （徐征）, said that, while the massacre is undeniably the most lamentable event in Taiwan’s history, she hopes the public can refrain from looking at the past with an “angry heart.”
“We must seek to understand the Incident with love and peace, instead of hatred,” Hsu Kuang said.
The solemn atmosphere of the commemorative ceremony was interrupted when Ma, as he was preparing to leave, was stopped by a participant who shouted: “President Ma, I want to present my case.”
The man, who identified himself as Lin Wen-chieh （林文傑）, said he lost his father in the Incident while his brother and uncle were shot dead during the White Terror era.
Blasting the government for failing to bring the perpetrators of the 288 Incident to justice, Lin demanded that Ma immediately remove all statues of Chiang Kai-shek （蔣介石） from school campuses and tear down the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
“The compensation doled out to victims should be paid for by the KMT using its assets, rather than by the central government using taxpayers’ money,” Lin said.
Lin said Ma told him to send all the relevant documents to the Presidential Office, adding that unless the president fulfills his requests, Ma would forever be remembered as the “president with a 9 percent support rate.”
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
