Taiwan plans to promote transitional justice by educating the public about the country’s history of authoritarianism. That came from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Tuesday, who was speaking at an event to commemorate the victims of the 228 Incident.
The 228 Incident took place in 1947, when the military killed thousands of civilians in anti-government uprisings. Taiwan’s government refused to acknowledge the massacre until former President Lee Teng-hui publicly apologized on the incident’s anniversary in 1995.
Taiwan has slowly been working towards transitional justice by building memorial parks and museums, returning assets to victims’ families, and removing authoritarian symbols from society. Tsai says the government must promote constitutional democracy, and it has already made plans to incorporate transitional justice into the education system for the first time.
The president says Taiwan has been working on transitional justice projects since 2016, through new legislation and revoking charges against victims during the martial law period. Tsai adds that the country will continue collecting relevant documents and research about the period to keep the public informed about Taiwan’s history.