On the 77th anniversary of the 228 Massacre, usually remembered as the start of the White Terror, it proves important to remember the long path that remains for transitional justice in Taiwan...
On the 76th anniversary of the 228 Massacre, commemorations were held to memorialize the event, traditionally viewed as the start of the decades-long White Terror that followed. This includes many events held annually, such as the Gongsheng Music Festival–the indie rock festival held on Ketagalan Boulevard organized by civil society groups–as well as commemorations by the government. Nevertheless, the anniversary of the 228 Massacre should point to how the pan-Blue camp in Taiwan has generally sought to avoid reckoning with its authoritarian past...
The protracted saga of Control Yuan member Chen Shih-meng’s resignation reflects the challenges of Taiwan’s democratic transition. The case also points to the splits which continue to exist in the pan-Green camp between the Tsai administration and pan-Green traditionalists that take issue with the moderate political course it has taken...
With the passage of transitional justice legislation by the Legislative Yuan, one can in fact expect debates regarding transitional justice in Taiwan to become fiercer, rather than be settled...
The Keelung Massacre is less well-known than the 228 Massacre, but is among the major crimes committed by the KMT, or rather, the Republic of China government which was synonymous with the KMT at the time...
Some ask, why the need for transitional justice in Taiwan, anyway? The answer lay in the unresolved issues of the authoritarian period which linger in the present...