Hundreds walk to mark 228 Incident

UNKNOWNWithout truth there can be no forgiveness, one activist said, calling for government action on transitional justice reforms, rather than empty gestures

By Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Campaigners wearing straw hats march in Taipei yesterday to remember victims of the 228 Massacre.

Photo: Wang Yi-song, Taipei Times

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Hundreds of campaigners marched in Taipei yesterday to commemorate the 228 Incident, calling for the government to officially assign responsibility for the massacre which followed a 1947 protest.

Escalating protests swept Taiwan on Feb. 28, 1947, after Tobacco Monopoly Bureau agents confiscated contraband cigarettes from a woman outside Taipei’s Tianma Tea House (天馬茶房) on Nanjing W Road on Feb. 27. When the woman was hit on the head by an officer holding a gun, the crowd surrounded the agents, who responded by fleeing with one agent shooting into the crowd and killing a bystander.

A subsequent bloody crackdown by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime systematically killed many Taiwanese.

Only partial documentation of the events and victims has been recovered, with the government-funded 228 Memorial Foundation officially recognizing more than 2,200 victims.

More than 26 groups were represented at yesterday’s march through key historic sites, but no individual banners were raised.

Campaigners solemnly read out the names of those who were killed or went missing in the Incident.

“As the victims are gradually forgotten, Feb. 28 has diminished into a holiday lacking emotion,” Nylon Cheng Liberty Foundation managing director Cheng Tsing-hua (鄭清華) said. “We are still at the starting line in terms of discovering the truth, because the identities of many victims and perpetrators are unknown.”

He called for the government to hasten passage of transitional justice legislation, which would establish a special committee with powers to investigate the Incident and other injustices under the then-KMT authoritarian rule.

Government discussions over the fate of the National Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) Memorial Hall were “more symbolic than substantial,” he said.

“The victims of the 228 Incident are not just those listed, its greatest victim was Taiwan itself, including the descendants of the perpetrators,” he said. “Without the truth, we do not have the preconditions for forgiveness.”

Cheng is a brother of democracy movement pioneer Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕), who in 1987 spearheaded a national campaign for Feb. 28 to be designated a national holiday shortly after the lifting of martial law.

Veteran activists Chen Yung-hsing (陳永興) and Lee Sheng-hsiung (李勝雄), who collaborated with Deng, led yesterday’s procession as it wound its way from Nanjing W Road to the Executive Yuan, where troops fired into a crowd of protesters during the massacre. The building served as the headquarters of then-Taiwan Governor Chen Yi (陳儀).

The march also passed the former site of a Tobacco Monopoly Bureau office which was sacked the same day, and a radio station building which was occupied and used to spread word of the protests.

The procession concluded with a prayer and singing while participants scattered satin flower petals over white cloth to symbolize mourning.

Series of events set to cast light on 228, White Terror

Staff writer, with CNA

A Ministry of Culture is planning a series of events starting in April to promote transitional justice.

A series of activities in Taiwan and overseas, including seminars, artistic performances, film festivals and exhibitions, is aimed at starting public discussion about Taiwanese history through arts and culture.

This year is the 70th anniversary of the 228 Incident and the 30th anniversary of the lifting of martial law. The 228 Incident lasted until early May 1947, and the White Terror era lasted until 1987.

Both are symbols of Taiwan’s authoritarian past, in which thousands of people were killed or imprisoned without due process. Taiwan has not come fully to terms with this period of its history.

The ministry said it will hold seminars on Germany’s transitional justice experience with the hope of using Germans’ experiences as a reference.

A concert in Taipei’s Liberty Square featuring Taiwanese composers such as Kuo Chih-yuan (郭芝苑), Hsiao Tyzen (蕭泰然), Uongu Yatauyogana and Chin Shi-wen (金希文) is to be held. Several of the compositions are to reference the 228 Incident and the White Terror era

Martial law was lifted on July 15, 1987. The ministry said it would stage shows around July 15 in commemoration of the event.

The Public Television Service Foundation is to air a series of domestic and foreign films and TV programs related to human rights and transitional justice issues, including the Taiwanese film Super Citizen Ko (超級大國民), the ministry said.

The Jing-Mei National Human Rights Memorial and Cultural Park in New Taipei’s Xindian District (新店) in cooperation with local governments is to host tours of historical sites related to the White Terror era from July 15 until December.

Academia Historica in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正) has a 228 Incident exhibition and is to hold a special exhibition to mark the 30th anniversary of the lifting of martial law at the end of the year.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York is to sponsor a series of events, including a contemporary art show, film festivals and music performances between September and December so that Taiwanese overseas can also explore transitional justice issues.

228 evidence indicts Chiang: academic

IN THE KNOW:Chiang Kai-shek read and approved a document requesting troops to quell protests and promoted officials involved in the crackdown, a researcher said

Staff writer, with CNA

Academia Historica director Wu Mi-cha, center, chairs a conference on the 228 Incident at the Institute of Modern History at Academia Sinica yesterday.

Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

Evidence shows that Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) should be held responsible for the 228 Incident, an academic said on Thursday.

A document dated March 2, 1947, requesting the dispatch of at least a regiment to help quell protests, which was read and approved by Chiang, and the fact that then-Taiwan governor Chen Yi (陳儀) and Peng Meng-chi (彭孟緝), a major-general at the Kaohsiung garrison, were promoted after the crackdown demonstrates that Chiang has ultimate responsibility for the incident, said Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深), an associate research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Modern History.

Chen Yi-shen made the statement at a conference in Taipei to launch six more volumes of the Collected Files of the 228 Incident published by Academia Historica.

The 228 Incident was triggered by a clash between government officials and an illegal cigarette vendor in Taipei on Feb. 27, 1947. The event quickly turned into an anti-government uprising and was put down by the then-Nanjing-based Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government in China.

An estimated 18,000 to 28,000 people were killed during the crackdown, which lasted into early May, according to an investigation commissioned by the Cabinet in 1992.

The six volumes — Vol. 19-24 in the series — include files about the incident from the Presidential Office, the Changhua County Government and what was at the time the Taichung County government.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has promised to publish a report on transitional justice within three years and ordered the collection of government documents detailing political and other types of persecution, Academia Historica director Wu Mi-cha (吳密察) said.

The National Archives Administration has identified about 13,000 cases relating to the 228 Incident and political persecution, Wu said.

Tsai said that her administration has an obligation to determine the truth of the incident in an open and transparent manner so that responsibility can be more accurately apportioned.

Documents relating to the 228 Incident include a telegram issued on March 6, 1947, released in 1992, and two others dated Feb. 28 and March 4, 1947, released in 2008, National Taiwan University history professor Chen Tsui-lien (陳秀蓮) said.

However, the March 2, 1947, telegram by Chen Yi, which was referenced by later documents, makes it clear that Chiang was aware what the Taiwan governor was planning to do, Chen Tsui-lien said.

A report on the 228 Incident published in 2006 said that Chiang was primarily responsible for the crackdown, with Chen Yi and Peng directly responsible for the behavior of troops in Taiwan, Chen Yi-shen said, adding that the document released as part of the newly published files offered more evidence of the 2006 report’s accuracy.

A cult of personality is not proper in a democracy and on that basis alone the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall should be redesignated as either a national human rights museum or a memorial museum for former presidents of the Republic of China, Chen Yi-shen said.

Protesters decry Aboriginal land policy proposal

LEGITIMIZING THEFT?Panai Kusui, Mayaw Biho, Salone Ishahavut and Lin Fei-fan were among those who gathered to criticize the omission of private land

By Abraham Gerber  /  Staff reporter

Lin Fei-fan, front, a leader of the Sunflower movement, speaks yesterday during a protest on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei to back calls for transitional justice for Aborigines as Amis singer-activist Panai Kusui, third right, and Amis filmmaker Mayaw Biho, fourth right, and others look on.

Photo: CNA

Failure to include private land within the government’s legal definition of Aboriginal “traditional areas” will entrench historical oppression and injustice, Aboriginal campaigners said yesterday, blasting the government’s failure to meet its promise of transitional justice.

More than a dozen people associated with the Aboriginal Transitional Justice Classroom (原住民轉型正義小教室) gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building and shouted for villages to be allowed to declare their own traditional areas.

“Excluding private land amounts to an acknowledgement that the past behavior and policies which led to the theft of Aboriginal land were legitimate,” said Salone Ishahavut, a Bunun and a professor of indigenous development at National Chi Nan University.

She said that the 800,000 hectares which the Council of Indigenous Peoples has estimated will be covered under traditional area delineation guidelines published last week is a drastic reduction from the 1.8 million hectares it estimated should be included following a survey completed in 2007.

New guidelines restrict application of the “traditional area” label to government-owned land, explicitly excluding private land.

While it is not clear what portion of the reduction is attributable to the exclusion of private land, much of the prime real estate in traditional areas is now in private hands, Salone said.

“While this delineation of traditional areas was supposed to be about protecting our land rights, excluding privately owned land will mean the final and complete loss of original lands and their related memories,” she said.

Including privately owned land in the “traditional areas” would give Aboriginals a voice in development projects, while leaving formal ownership unchanged, she said.

“This policy is effectively saying that the system of private property can address many delicate questions and complicated processes,” said Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), a Sunflower movement leader.

Lin said the council is using its administrative discretion to avoid tackling difficult aspects of transitional justice.

“Traditional areas should refer to the real-life space of our ancestors, but the council is focusing on the ‘status quo,’ which has already diverged from tradition. These delineation rules amount to an acknowledgement that our nation is unable to face the real history of indigenous peoples,” Amis singer-activist Panai Kusui said.

Including private land would spotlight the injustices involved in its acquisition, and could spark a national conversation, she said.

Another Amis, Mayaw Biho, a documentary filmmaker and a former head of Taiwan Indigenous TV, said the government has failed to follow through with promises to push for indigenous transitional justice in parallel with transitional justice efforts aimed at other abuses under Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) authoritarian rule.

“The Presidential Office committee on indigenous justice held its first meeting in December [last year] and that was just an initial meeting which did not result in anything — but just look at all the Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee has been doing,” Mayaw said.

Taiwan in talks with India over foreign workers

Staff writer, with CNA

Taiwan and India are exploring a proposal to allow Indians to be employed in Taiwan, amid improving relations between the two nations, Taiwan’s Representative to India Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said.

Tien told the Telegraph India in a recent interview that the two nations have begun negotiating an agreement under which Taiwan will hire people from the northeastern states of India to work in its hospitality sector.

He said a substantial Indian workforce in Taiwan would help improve Indians’ understanding of the nation and that the Indian government is supportive of the proposal.

More than 500,000 foreign workers, mainly from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, are working in Taiwan.

Since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) assumed office in May last year, her administration has been working to deepen ties with South and Southeast Asian nations as a part of her “new southbound policy.”

Since September last year, Taiwan and India have signed three agreements regarding collaboration in preserving and promoting heritage railways, improving air connectivity between Taiwan and India, and enhancing cooperation in agriculture, the newspaper said.

Last month, 22 Indian lawmakers also established a forum to promote friendly relations with Taiwan, it said.

In the interview, Tien described Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “the Indian leader with probably the best understanding of Taiwan.”

“This period in our relations, since Prime Minister Modi came to power, is the most dynamic in our history and I promise you there will be a quantum leap in relations over the next three to four years,” Tien said.

Exhibit to commemorate the 228 Massacre to open

By Lee Hsin-fang and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the 228 Massacre, the government, in collaboration with the Memorial Foundation of 228, is today to open an exhibition as part of expanded commemorative activities.

The 228 Massacre refers to the crackdown launched by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime against civilian demonstrators following an incident in Taipei on Feb. 27, 1947. The event also marked the beginning of the White Terror era, that saw thousands of Taiwanese arrested, imprisoned or executed.

Titled “A Name in the Wind,” the exhibition is to be held at the 228 Peace Memorial Park in Taipei, the foundation said, adding that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been invited to attend the opening ceremony.

The foundation said this would be the first time a president has attended a memorial of the massacre in an official capacity, adding that the president is expected to pay her respects to the victims of the massacre during the ceremony.

The move demonstrates the government’s sincerity in promoting social justice, the foundation said.

Foundation executive director Yang Cheng-long (楊振隆) said the anniversary not only commemorates the 70 years since the massacre occurred, but also 30 years since political rehabilitation in Taiwan began.

Yang said the latter milestone would also be commemorated through a separate exhibit that is to open on Feb. 9 at the 228 Peace Memorial Park in cooperation with the Nylon Cheng Foundation.

The exhibit is to feature short films and books related to the massacre including those based on more recent research, Yang said, adding that it is to run until the end of the year.

Separately, an international conference is to be held on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 inviting foreign academics to discuss their research on the massacre with local academics, Yang said, adding that the conference is a collaboration between the foundation and Academia Sinica.

“A Name in the Wind” also features about 10 paintings themed on the massacre and the White Terror era created by human rights advocate and White Terror survivor Chen Wu-chen (陳武鎮), Yang said.

Musical performances by students are a regular part of 228 Massacre memorial activities, Yang said, adding that this year the foundation and other groups would work with students to hold a large musical festival on Ketagalan Boulevard on the evening of Feb. 28.

Indonesian fisherman’s death sparks labor protest

SEPARATE LAW:Huang Hung-yan of the Fisheries Agency said that rules for fishermen hired abroad were in line with practices in other nations, like Japan

By Lin Yen-tung and William Hetherington  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Labor rights advocates protest outside the Council of Agriculture in Taipei yesterday to demand better conditions for foreign fishermen who work on Taiwanese vessels.

Photo: Lin Yen-tung, Taipei Times

The death of an Indonesian fisherman last year who was allegedly beaten while aboard his Taiwanese employer’s vessel has sparked demands for improved working conditions for migrant fishermen, who are not protected by labor laws.

The Taiwan International Worker’s Association and a Hsinchu Catholic Church group yesterday organized a protest involving fishermen and members of the public outside the Council of Agriculture to voice four demands for foreign fishermen’s rights.

The protesters, who said they were responding to abuses of foreign fishermen aboard Taiwanese fishing vessels, said they are now in talks with the council.

A Taiwanese online media source brought the issue to public attention again last week with an in-depth report on the death of an Indonesian migrant fisherman named Supriyanto, who was allegedly the victim of physical abuse that led to his death at sea last year.

The report said a court investigation was been hampered by an inability to translate video footage of Supriyanto taken before his death, as no translator proficient in his central Javanese dialect was available.

Taiwan has the greatest number of distant-sea fishing vessels of any nation, the association said, adding that revenue from the industry reaches NT$43.8 billion (US$1.357 billion) annually.

Despite the amount of money involved, the industry employs only about 20,000 full-time workers, 90 percent of whom are hired from abroad, the association said.

Interviews with migrant fishermen conducted by Greenpeace last year brought accusations of exploitative working conditions aboard fishing vessels, with many fishermen working more than 18 hours per day to earn about NT$10,000 per month, some of which they said they had to pay to employment brokers.

Foreign workers are subject to the Fisheries Act (漁業法) rather than being covered by the same laws that protect Taiwanese fishermen, the association said.

The Fisheries Agency in May proposed an amendment to Article 84, Section 1 of the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) that would include migrant fishermen in regulations governing special work hour agreements reached between employers and employees.

The proposed changes would still be inadequate to address the pressures migrant fishermen face due to being overworked, underpaid and subject to high job broker fees, association member Hsu Wei-tung (許惟棟) said, adding that these problems are in addition to the physical and verbal abuse migrant fishermen regularly face.

Hsu said the association has demanded that the council put migrant fishermen fully under the protection of the Labor Standards Act and asked that it ban overseas recruitment of fishermen, cancel proposed amendments to Article 84 of the act, fully investigate alleged executive failures last year in investigations of the fishing vessel Supriyanto worked on, the Fu Tzu Chun, and have the boat’s owners compensate Supriyanto’s family for his death according to the labor act.

Fisheries Agency Deputy Director-General Huang Hung-yan (黃鴻燕) said that 10,000 migrant fishermen aboard vessels plying waters near Taiwan were hired after arriving in the nation and are covered by the labor act.

The remaining 18,000 migrant fishermen aboard Taiwanese vessels in distant waters were hired overseas out of necessity, as the ships were already in the vicinity of those countries when the workers were needed, Huang said, citing examples of vessels near Cape Town that hired foreign fishermen after their arrival there.

Nearly 1,200 Taiwanese fishing vessels operate in distant waters, he said, adding that putting all of the migrant fishermen on those vessels under the labor act would be difficult and would require consultation with the Ministry of Labor.

Citing Japan, he said that most nations had fisheries rules similar to Taiwan’s, using different standards for migrant fishermen.

Other Taiwanese industries also have similar regulations, such as factories that operate overseas that do not include local workers they employ according to the labor act.