Nation prepares to mark 228 Incident anniversary

IN MEMORIAM:：Services are planned across the nation,

 as organizers hope to educate 

the younger generation about the massacre 68 years ago

Staff writer, with CNA

Wed, Feb 25, 2015 - Page 3

A number of events are to be held across the nation over
 the next few weeks to commemorate
 the 68th anniversary of the 228 Incident, an
anti-government uprising and subsequent brutal
 crackdown that occurred in 1947.

Two memorial services will be held at the 228 Peace
 Memorial Park in Taipei on Saturday, 
while music performances will staged at the plaza in front
 of the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum
 every day from today to Saturday, the 228 Memorial 
Foundation said.

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and Democratic
 Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen
 (蔡英文) are scheduled to attend one of the memorial 
services, which will include a concert to
 commemorate the victims and their families, the Taiwan 
Nation Alliance said.

For the third consecutive year, university students will 
stage music and theater performances
 at Liberty Square in front of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial 
Hall, alongside exhibitions and 
accounts of the event by academics and victims and their 
families.

In Chiayi, a memorial service and a concert are planned
 for tomorrow. An exhibition of
images and documents from the Incident will also open
 tomorrow and run until March 22
 at the Chiayi 228 Memorial Park Museum.

Other memorial services will be held in Kaohsiung, New 
Taipei City, Taichung, Tainan, 
Greater Taoyuan, Pingtung and Yunlin on Saturday and in
 Keelung on March 8.

“228 is not a three-day holiday for people to go out and 
travel,” Lin Wei-lien (林偉聯), a pastor
 and officer of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan and a 
member of the Taiwan Nation Alliance,
 said yesterday at a press conference at which the events
 were announced.

He said he hopes the memorial services and exhibitions 
will educate young people and 
children about the Incident and help to ensure that such a
 tragedy does not occur again in 
Taiwan.

Although the government has apologized many times, it 
is still unclear who should be held 
accountable for the massacre and how many people died
 during that period, according to
Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), director of National Chengchi 
University’s Graduate Institute of 
Taiwan History and the Taiwan 228 Care Association.

The official documents show discrepancies regarding the 
whereabouts of some people, he 
added.

“Forgiveness is only possible when the truth has been 
uncovered and the lessons of history
 have been learned,” said Hsueh, calling for more research
 to shed light on the Incident.

It is estimated that tens of thousands of Taiwanese, many 
of them members of the intellectual 
elite, were killed during the Chinese Nationalist Party 
(KMT) government’s crackdown on the 
uprising, which began on Feb. 28, 1947, 16 months after
Japan’s colonial rule over Taiwan 
ended.

The crackdown was prelude to nearly four decades of 
martial law.

Published on Taipei Times :

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2015/02/25/2003612204
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Activists set to launch Social Democratic Party

By Lii Wen  /  Staff reporter

Wed, Feb 18, 2015 - Page 3

Veteran social activists intend to introduce a new center-left political party — the Social Democratic Party (SDP, 社會民主黨) — in next year’s legislative elections.

Led by National Taiwan University professor Fan Yun (范雲), the party is to officially announce its bid to enter the race by early next month.

“We differ from current prevailing methods of economic development, which often expect a certain industry to act as a ‘locomotive of growth’ for other sectors,” SDP founding member and potential legislative candidate Urda Yen (嚴婉玲) said, adding that the party supports the development of industries that address the current needs of society — such as long-term care for the elderly or clean energy generation.

Yen was previously spokesperson for the Economic Democracy Union, a group that originated in early campaigns against the cross-strait service trade agreement that preceded the Sunflower movement last year.

In terms of cross-strait issues, the SDP considers Taiwan an independent nation separate from China and would focus its platform on economic issues and social equality, Yen said.

Fan has been confirmed as a candidate for legislator next year, while Yen and National Chung Cheng University academic Chen Shang-chih (陳尚志) are considering candidacy, Yen said.

While Fan is likely to enter the race in Taipei’s Daan District (大安), Yen is considering running for legislator in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋).

The move would pit Yen against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) incumbent Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池), who spearheaded the KMT’s efforts last year to promote the trade pact.

Amid an explosion of candidates from minor parties for next year’s elections, the SDP is engaged in discussions with the environmental issue-based Green Party about a joint legislator-at-large nomination list, Yen said.

Although the SDP does not rule out cooperation with major parties — such as possible coordination with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to avoid nominating candidates in the same constituency — they are “most likely” to cooperate with the Green Party in terms of nominating joint candidates, she added.

The upcoming political party is to feature a rose — an international symbol for socialism — in its official emblem, Yen said.

The rose is to be rainbow-colored instead of solid red to illustrate the party’s roots in a diverse range of progressive social causes — including women’s rights, children’s rights, gay rights and media reform — instead of being strictly limited to left-wing labor movements, she added.

The party is set to be the second founded by members of the civic group Taiwan Citizen’s Union (TCU), after a separate group of TCU members launched the New Power Party less than a month ago.

In addition to the four major parties that hold seats in the national legislature, up to 10 minor parties — many with progressive or activist agendas — are planning to enter the race, which is scheduled for January next year.

TAIPEI CITY GOVERNMENT: Cross-strait relations should not be rash: Ko

By Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Tue, Feb 10, 2015 - Page 3

Cross-strait relations should not be handled rashly, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said on Sunday evening in response to an editorial from China’s official press agency criticizing his “two countries, one system” suggestion.

“Sometimes people will say something to see what will happen,” Ko said, referring to the editorial. “I agree that cross-strait ties should not be handled rashly.”

A Xinhua news agency editorial last week condemned the “two countries, one system” formulation that Ko told the US magazine Foreign Policy should be used in lieu of the “one country, two systems” that China uses.

Reiterating China’s position that relations with Taiwan are not “country to country” ties, the editorial criticized Ko for making “irresponsible remarks” and called his formula a continuation of the “special state-to-state” and “one country on each side” models put forth by former presidents Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

The Xinhua editorial said that Ko’s statements had “set back” cross-strait relations, and “set up obstacles” for exchanges between Taipei and Shanghai.

Ko on Sunday used the phrase “cross-national” to refer to ties between China and Taiwan before quickly correcting himself, stating that cross-strait relations were a “serious” matter.

He said that cross-strait relations should continue to move forward on their existing foundation, avoiding “labeling,” and expanding ties to build trust, while reiterating his belief that the Taipei-Shanghai forum should be expanded to encompass more cities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

He had earlier said that the emphasis of his “two countries one system” formulation was on “one system” not “two countries,” with “one system” referring to universal values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law.

Ma Ming-chun (馬明君), a Taipei City Government’s Research, Development and Evaluation Commission official responsible for coordinating the forum said that Taipei has yet to contact Shanghai to discuss this year’s event.

Chinese Students Kicked Out Of Harvard Conference After Taiwan Row

ASIA 2/09/2015
Chinese Students Kicked Out Of Harvard Conference After Taiwan Row
 [The post has been updated with a response from a Harvard MUN organizer.] 

Delegates at a model United Nations Conference got a taste of a real life international row after Chinese students and US organizers clashed over one of the world’s most delicate diplomatic talking points – Taiwan. The row came at the normally cordial Harvard Model United Nations conference in Boston, in which high school students from around the world get together every year to discuss international relations and to foster an open dialogue on complex global issues. The format is based on simulations and by assuming the roles of UN representatives and other international bodies. This year, however, participants got an unexpected taste of just how complex and infected global conflicts can be in the real world. It all started on the evening of January 29, when members of the Chinese delegation noticed that Taiwan was listed as an independent country in the official delegates’ handbook. China and Taiwan — officially the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China — separated in 1949 following a civil war. But China still claims Taiwan as its territory and, to this day, is reported to have 2,000 missiles pointed at the island. Taiwan, on the other side, is a flourishing democracy and less than 10 percent of its 23 million people support the idea of reunification; a figure that has declined consistently over the years. The so­-called Cross­-Strait relationship is a constant strain between Beijing and Taipei, and also, it seems, among hot-­tempered students. Reports point to the fact that many Chinese students overseas feel required to counteract perceived anti­China bias. Johan Nylander Contributor I write about entrepreneurship and social trends in China. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.Members of the Chinese delegation accused the American organizers of having a poor understanding of international relations. They requested an apology, and that the organization committee reprint 3000 brochures. But the committee turned down their request. Instead, they offered to make a clarification at the beginning of the conference. An administrator tried to smooth things over by offering participants to pick up stickers that said “by Country and Region” to add to their delegates’ handbooks where it originally said “by Country”. Ruth D. Kagan, Secretary­General of Harvard Model United Nations 2015, explained that the inclusion of Taiwan in the handbook was “not meant as a political statement” in an e­mail to the delegates. But the Chinese were still far from happy with the organizers’ attempts to cool the situation and continued to push their demands. The following day, as the quarrel escalated, the American organizers decided to call security and remove some of the Chinese delegates from the conference, which was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Boston. The Chinese had become a “security risk” and the organization committee “felt uncomfortable about their presence”, one of the Chinese participants wrote in a post on the Ren-ren social networking site, which is popular among Chinese students. “Even though now I am more than 100 miles away from the scene, as I am sitting on my bed in the hotel room, I can still feel the blood rushing to my head,” she wrote. “So this is America’s so­ called freedom, its so called freedom of speech and freedom of movement. So these are the human rights that America is preaching every day — but where are those rights now? “America’s democracy, freedom and human rights are only for Americans; they have nothing to do with you Chinese folks. “Americans treat you with bias if you are Chinese. Being Chinese just won’t do. This is a fact.” The writer was identified by China’s state controlled newspaper Global Times as Deng Bingyu, a student from Xi’an­based Northwest Polytechnical University in Shaanxi Province. However, an organizer of the conference disputed the online account and said that the ones who were removed from the conference were in fact not registered delegates. 

“No students were removed. And we did not have any argument about
This article is available online at: http://onforb.es/1zRfUyh 2015 Forbes.com LLC™ All Rights Reserved Taiwan with any of the Chinese students,” said the organizer, who spoke on terms of anonymity. “Some people were removed, but we don’t know exactly who they were. They were not delegates of the conference.” The blog post created quite a stir online, with mixed review. Many Chinese commentators were supportive of the Chinese students; others said the students were overreacting and called them naïve. J. Michael Cole, senior fellow at the China Policy Institute, University of Nottingham in the UK, had praise for the organizers. “Beyond doubt the organizers of HMUN2015 acted sensibly in the situation. They refused to be pressured by hotheads, and they pushed back just enough to maintain their integrity,” he wrote in a blog post. China’s leader Xi Jinping has brought new urgency to the unification issue. In September, he expressed his “firm and unwavering stance” on reunification under the idea of “one country, two systems” during a meeting with pro­unification delegates in Beijing. The authorities in Taipei immediately rejected the idea, branding them “unacceptable”. When I interviewed Taiwan’s president Ma Ying­jeou in the Presidential palace in central Taipei last October, he admitted that it’s a fine balancing act to maintain good economic relations with China while keeping Beijing’s push for reunification at bay. “During my tenure as president, I will not discuss unification with mainland China,” he declared. “In addition, I will not promote independence, let alone the use of force. I believe this is essential to achieving a stable and lasting framework for peaceful development.” That question of a “stable and lasting framework” is one that’s likely to be on the agenda of the Harvard Model United Nations Network for many years to come, and is unlikely to be solved with a sticker in the conference handbook.

Bunan people rally against Taitung project

By Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Sat, Feb 07, 2015 - Page 3

Bunan Aborigines of the Hongye people in Taitung County yesterday rallied in front of the Construction and Planning Office in Taipei to protest against the Taitung County Government’s plan to establish a hot spring facility for recreational purposes, citing concerns over the impact the facility would have on local geology and accusing the government of attempting to rob the Hongye people of their land in the name of development.

Hongye tribe representative Iman (伊曼) said the county government in 2003 included 11 development areas on 50 hectares of land belonging to the Hongye and Siali peoples as part of its urban development plan, even though his people had unanimously opposed the plan since it was first proposed in 1986.

Presenting a map that showed the geological makeup of land surrounding the planned development sites, he said the proposed sites are encircled by geologically sensitive areas that were severely damaged by Typhoon Morakot in 2009.

However, Taitung Commissioner Justin Huang (黃健庭) failed to recognize this and during the past week allowed the plan to be submitted to his office for review without any public hearings held in advance, thereby going back on a pledge he made during his re-election campaign last year, Iman said.

In addition, the sites earmarked by the county government are located on plains, the areas most densely populated with Hongye and Siali communities, which have lived and farmed ther since their ancestors first settled in the region. By proposing development in these areas, the government is forcing them out of their homes and their fields, Iman said.

He requested on behalf of his people that the office return the plan so that it can be re-evaluated, and called on the Taitung County Government to heed Article 21 and 22 of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law (原住民族基本法), which states that the government must obtainAboriginal peoples’ consent before undertaking development projects.

Other requests from the Hongye people included that the government exclude the community’s land from the development plan, and greatly reduce the scope of development involving the land of Siali people.

In response to the Taitung County Government, which has said the development plan precedes the enforcement of the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law, Citizen of the Earth Taiwan researcher Wu Ju-mei (吳如媚) said the aboriginal communities settled in the region much earlier than when the plan was formulated.

“I believe that assessment committee members from the Department of City Planning will be clear-eyed and clear-minded enough to tell whether this urban development plan was introduced to pander to large corporations or boost local residents’ quality of life,” she said.

Committee members resolved during a negotiation with the Hongye people and the environmental protection group that the Taitung County Government should file an official document with the Council of Indigenous Peoples to assess whether the law applies to the plan, and if it does, the project is to be reevaluated in accordance with opinions gathered at tribal meetings.

Pro-Taiwan groups protest against cross-strait talks

By Jason Pan  /  Staff reporter

Sun, Feb 08, 2015 - Page 3

Members of groups supporting Taiwanese independence were joined by civic activists at a demonstration in Taipei yesterday to protest against the planned high-level cross-strait talks between Taiwan and China on various trade and political issues.

The protesters gathered in front of the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) office before marching to the Presidential Office Building and ending their action late in the afternoon.

Organizers said they were demonstrating against cross-strait talks between MAC Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) and Chinese Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), as the event was to begin yesterday, but was canceled in an announcement on Thursday.

The activists handed a letter to the council demanding that before the resumption of cross-strait talks, China must remove all the missiles it has aimed at Taiwan, and that the Chinese government renounce the threat of military attack against Taiwan.

Headed by the Taiwanese National Party (TNP, 台灣民族黨), the protesters also included members from the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign, Taiwanese National Congress and the Taiwan Independence Association.

“We are here to stop the government from signing any secret deal with China. We want to stand up to oppose President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) selling out Taiwan to China,” TNP Chairman Tsua Gim-liong (蔡金龍) said. “Although the meeting was canceled this time, the MAC and TAO have already set the meeting agenda. The whole thing is illegal because there was no transparency, no monitoring mechanism and no consultation with Taiwanese people.”

It was to be the third set of high-level cross-strait talks between Wang and Zhang, and was to take place on Kinmen Island (金門).

Another activist, surnamed Lin (林), said that when Zhang came to Taiwan for the MAC-TAO talks and to meet with Wang in June last year, many Taiwanese citizens, students and civic groups held protests at all the locations he visited.

“Police roughed up and injured some of the students and civilian protesters. Others were arrested for participating in the demonstration. Still we come here today to tell Zhang that he is not welcome, and that Taiwanese people must stand up to China’s threat,” he said.

The MAC said that the meeting was canceled due to both sides needing to deal with events concerning Wednesday’s crash of TransAsia Airways Flight GE235.

Another reason for the cancellation, according to the MAC, was that both sides still had disagreements over China’s newly drawn flight routes that run close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait.