Taiwan’s government plans to set up a fund to compensate people who suffered during the country’s period of authoritarian rule. Victims’ families will also be able to apply.
Authorities aim to start processing applications in January next year.
In May, Taiwan’s legislature passed a bill tasking the government with creating a fund for victims of unlawful state actions that took place under Taiwan’s authoritarian government. Before its democratic transition in the 1990s, Taiwan was a dictatorship governed by a single party — the Kuomintang.
Under the new scheme, relatives of people who died because of government oppression will be entitled to NT$12 million (US$400,000) in compensation. And people who were unlawfully arrested, imprisoned or had their freedoms otherwise limited will be able to ask for between NT$120,000 and NT$170,000 (US$4,000-5,700).
Under the new rules, people and families who have already received compensation for past wrongdoing can still apply. If approved, they will receive the difference between the old and new compensation amounts.
Taiwan’s Transitional Justice Commission, which disbanded in May, estimated there are around 14,000 cases eligible for compensation, totalling NT$27.7 billion (US$930 million). The interior ministry has put aside a budget of NT$14.8 billion (almost US$500 million) for the fund’s first year.