TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Much more could be done to improve Taiwan’s understanding of the 228 Massacre, a crowd attending a memorial for the missing victims of the event heard in Taipei on Sunday (March 31).
The chair of the 228 Memorial Foundation, Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), told attendees that his foundation is currently searching for more than 4,000 suspected victims of the massacre, per CNA. He said this shows there was a lot of room for more efforts to better understand the incident, especially in education and historical textbooks.
The 1947 February 28 Massacre was an anti-government uprising that was violently suppressed by the then-ruling Kuomintang (KMT), who subsequently imposed martial law in Taiwan and outlying islands, which lasted until 1992 in some areas. Between 18,000 and 28,000 people are believed to have been killed in a crackdown ordered by Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and the then-commander of Taiwan Province Chen Yi (陳儀).
Hsueh said that those still missing after the 228 Massacre were victims of the government’s illegal actions during that time. He said that Taiwan’s transitional justice efforts remain important and that society must persevere in uncovering the truth.
Read more: Taiwan transitional justice at local level moves at snail's pace
Li Hui-sheng (李慧生) attended the memorial and said that her grandfather, Li Jui-han (李瑞漢), disappeared in the incident. She said when she was a child, she would accompany her grandmother to search for her grandfather’s grave, a memory that is still fresh in her mind.
Li said her 92-year-old father recalls the day his father was taken away, and that his absence has become a “missing piece of the puzzle” in his life. She said as her family and others are still pursuing justice, statues of Chiang Kai-shek should be removed from public places in Taiwan.
Statues of Chiang have been removed from public places throughout Taiwan as part of transitional justice efforts, though many remain, the most notable of which is the large bronze statue in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Many of them have been relocated to the Cihu Memorial Sculpture Park, which is also home to Chiang’s mausoleum.
