Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je completed a 520 km bicycle ride down Taiwan’s western coast on Sunday morning. He said it was his way of commemorating the 228 Incident.
Ko set out on his journey from the Fugueijiao Lighthouse on Taiwan's northernmost tip at about 5:30 on Saturday morning. He arrived at the Eluanbi Lighthouse on Taiwan's southernmost tip at 10:02 on Sunday morning.
The mayor said that as a descendant of a victim of the 228 Incident, he wanted to commemorate the day in a different way. He was openly emotional as he spoke about his grandfather, who died three years after the incident as a result of the injuries he sustained. Ko said he did not know how to help his own father deal with his grief.
Ko said he eventually decided that he and his father would stop marking the anniversary of the incident with tears and instead walk away from the sadness. He said that’s why he decided to mark the anniversary this year with a bike ride.