TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) listed her administration’s accomplishments in implementing transitional justice over the past eight years in a speech at a memorial ceremony remembering the 77th anniversary of the 228 Massacre in Chiayi County on Wednesday (Feb. 28).
To establish a legal foundation for transitional justice back in 2016, Tsai said the government first had to ratify legislation including the “Act Governing the Settlement of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliate Organizations,” “Act on Promoting Transitional Justice,” “The Organizational Act of the National Human Rights Museum,” “Political Archives Act,” and “Act to Restore Victim's Rights Infringed by Illegal Acts of the State During the Period of Authoritarian Rule.”
Her administration also had to establish dedicated organizations and mechanisms to be the driving force behind promoting transitional justice, Tsai said. After the Transitional Justice Commission achieved its tasks, transitional justice work was handed over to six permanent ministries under the Cabinet, she said.
So far, the government has completed four truth investigation reports and there has been legislation enacted to handle political archives held by political parties and inappropriate party assets, the president said. In cases of improper party assets reclaimed by the government, special funds have been established for public welfare and related transitional justice work, she said.
The government has also implemented the restoration of the reputation and compensation for 228 Massacre victims, Tsai said. Nearly 2,000 compensation applications have been processed, she said. Last year, properties confiscated from victims during the authoritarian rule period were returned, with over NT$4 billion (US$126.33 million) in compensation disbursed, she said.
Transitional justice is not about targeting specific political parties but about democratic governments taking responsibility for past unlawful acts during authoritarian rule and redressing the harm caused, Tsai said. By honestly confronting Taiwan's historical past, Taiwan's democratic mechanisms can deepen and evolve, she added.
