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28 February 1947 Published by: International Committee for Human Rights in Taiwan Taiwan : 2Fl., 27 Hang-chow South Rd. Sec. 1, TAIPEI, Taiwan Europe : P.O. Box 91542, 2509 EC THE HAGUE, The Netherlands Canada : P.O. Box 67035, 2300 Yonge Street, TORONTO, Ont. M4P 1E0 U.S.A. : P.O. Box 15182, CHEVY CHASE, MD 20825 International edition, April 1995 Published 6 times a year 65 Remembering 28 February 1947 A Memorial to Taiwans Holocaust On 28 February of this year, a monument was unveiled in Taipei in remembrance of the February 28 Incident of 1947, when Chiang Kai-shek sent troops from the mainland to suppress public protests by the native Taiwanese against the corruption and repression of the occupying Kuomintang regime, which took control of the island following the end of World War II. The troops murdered between 18,000 and 28,000 people, many of them scholars, lawyers, doctors, students and local leaders, and imprisoned many more in the White Terror campaign which took place in the following decade. Until a few years ago, the events of 1947 were a ta- boo subject on the island. The Kuomintang authori- ties did not want to be re- minded of their dark past, and the people did not dare to speak out for fear of retribution by the KMTs secret police. However, in 1987 the democratic opposition of the DPP and the coura- geous Presbyterian Church started to push the Kuomintang authorities to The new "February 28" Memorial in Taipei Taiwan Communiqué -2- April 1995 stop covering up the facts, and to come to a full airing of the matter. It wasnt until 1990 that the Kuomintang finally decided albeit reluctantly to open the records. In 1992 President Lee asked for reconciliation and decided that a monument would be built in Taipei (other memorials had been built earlier by DPP County Magistrates, the main ones in Chiayi and Pingtung). Another reason to commemorate February 28th is to remind the Kuomintang authori- ties that the Lin family murder remains unsolved: on this day in 1980 the mother and twin-daughters of Mr. Lin Yi-hsiung were murdered in their home in Taipei in broad daylight. Mr. Lin is a prominent opposition leader, who was imprisoned at the time for his involvement in Formosa Magazine, a publication which was pushing for democ- racy and human rights on the island. Until now the Kuomintang authorities have failed to resolve the murder, although there were clear indications of involvement of the KMTs secret police. The February 28 Monument which was unveiled in Taipei was designed by Mr. Cheng Tze-tsai, a former political prisoner. President Lee apologizes During the ceremonies on February 28, President Lee Teng-hui finally made an apology to the families of the victims of the incident. President Lee in his speech acknowledged mistakes made by the government and expressed his most sincere apology. He asked for forgiveness, so that we can transform hostility and sadness into harmony and peace. He also admonished that this memorial serves as a warning to keep us vigilant so that we never make the same mistake again. He promised to continue the process of healing by opening up historical records, offering compensation to the families of victims, and proclaiming February 28 as a memorial day. It was a significant step in the direction of reconciliation between the native Taiwanese majority on the island and those who came over from the mainland after World War II. However, the event was marred by a controversy over the inscription for the monu- ment: families of the victims found the inscription prepared by the Executive Yuan unacceptable because it tried to whitewash the incident and attempted to rationalize the policies of the KMT on the bloody 1947 crackdown. Thus, the plaque was left blank on the day of dedication. Taiwan Communiqué -3- April 1995 The Legislative Yuan passes Compensation On 22 March 1995, the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, after a heated debate, approved a proposal to grant compensation of up to NT$ six million (US$ 230,000) to relatives of persons who were killed, injured, or imprisoned in 1947 and subsequent years. The law that was passed also stipulated that February 28 would be declared a Peace Memorial Day. The democratic opposition of the DPP had pressed for a higher compensation amount, and argued that the compensation should be paid from the Kuomintang bulging party coffers and not by the taxpayers. The cover-up continues The DPP also urged the government to identify those responsible for the massacre and to prosecute those who are still alive. According to historical records the then- Governor Chen Yi was a key figure, and many military men involved in the murders later rose to high positions in the Kuomintang hierarchy. Most of these are now in retirement, some in the United States. According to a report in the Far Eastern Economic Review (Past Time, 23 March 1995), a former body guard of Governor Chen Yi, Mr. Shu Tao, also implicated Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek himself: Mr. Shu recently told a press conference in Taipei that he was present when the then Governor received a telegram from Chiang ordering him to suppress any opposition. According to Shu, the message was chillingly concise: Kill them all, keep it secret. Mr. Shu was then ordered to pass the telegram on to general Ke Yuan-fen, then chief of the Command of State Security, the forerunner of the infamous Taiwan Garrison Command. Mr. Ke is considered one of the people primarily responsible for the atrocities during and after the 1947 Incident. Historians in Taiwan believe the document could be among the personal papers of general Ke, who is living in retirement in Monterey Park in Southern California. Another person responsible for the tragedy, General Peng Meng-chi, is living in retirement in Taiwan. He conducted a reign of terror in the southern city of Kaohsiung, and was often referred to as the Butcher of Kaohsiung. Up until now the Kuomintang authorities have failed to charge him for the crimes he committed. Taiwan Communiqué -4- April 1995 Scholars who want to conduct research about the February 28 incident complain that they do not have direct access to a number of government archives. Although the Executive Yuans Ad Hoc Committee on 2-28 Incident has so far issued two volumes of findings from the archives, the Department of Defense continues to refuse to make public records in its archives covering the period from 1945 to 1950. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * China, the US and Taiwan Of Copyrights and Human Rights During January and February 1995, the question of copyrights and intellectual property rights was high on the agenda between the US and China. The problem was that rampant Chinese piracy of American computer software, music CDs, videos and movies was costing the American software, music and movie industry billions of dollars annually. In an attempt to enforce copyrights, the US threatened trade sanctions amounting to some US$ one billion / year against China, and set a February 26th deadline. In the end, the two sides came to an accord, and China reportedly agreed to clamp down on pirate manufacturers of CDs and to start abiding by international copyright agreements. The accord had a price for the US too: according to news reports China insisted that the US support Chinas application as a founding member of the World Trade Organization. On 12 March 1995, US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor stated that the US would do so. The US firmness on the economic front was combined with a new willingness of the Clinton Administration to take China to task on the issue of human rights. In its annual Human Rights report, made public in the beginning of February 1995, the State Department concluded that during the past year there was no significant, concrete improvement in Chinas human rights record. In the beginning of March 1995, at the annual meeting of the 53-member UN Human Rights Commission, the US also backed a European draft resolution, which expressed concern at continuing reports of violations and severe restrictions of fundamental freedoms. Regrettably, the resolution was narrowly defeated by a 21-20 vote, after China strenuously lobbied against it. Taiwan Communiqué -5- April 1995 Taiwan Communiqué comment: While we welcome the renewed attention given by the US to human rights in China, the overall picture of US policy towards China is still fuzzy. The 15-month old policy of the Clinton Administration is termed Comprehensive Engagement, but it ends up more like a hodge-podge of uncoordinated events, often in contradiction with each other. Sending Hazel O Leary to China to sign energy contracts at the time when the US Trade Represen- tative was going through its final round of trade negotiations, and US defense officials cozying up to the Peoples Liberation Army while the State Department was trying to tackle human rights are just a few of them. Jiang Zemins Eight Point Plan On 30 January 1995, on the eve of lunar New Year, Mr. Jiang Zemin, who serves both as Chinas President and general secretary of the Communist Party, gave a speech in Peking which was heralded by the Chinese authorities as a major new initiative. The speech, titled Continue to promote the reunification of the motherland contained eight points, which we briefly summarize below: 1. Adherence to the principle of one China. The PRC firmly opposes any words or actions aimed at creating an inde- pendent Taiwan ... 2. The PRC does not chal- lenge the development of non-governmental eco- nomic and cultural ties by Taiwan with other coun- tries (ADB, APEC mem- bership under the name Chinese Taipei).
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