Plaques unveiled for four sites of injustice ahead of 228 Incident’s anniversary

Plaques unveiled for four sites of injustice ahead of 228 Incident’s anniversary

2024-02-26

Taiwan unveiled plaques for four new sites of injustice on Monday, ahead of the 77th anniversary of the 228 Incident. One site was the Executive Yuan building, where KMT guards shot and killed protesters. Across the country, there are now 42 historical sites of injustice, memorializing one of the darkest chapters of Taiwan’s past.

Premier Chen Chien-jen, Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan and Control Yuan President Chen Chu unveil a plaque designating the Executive Yuan building as a historical site of injustice. The building was once known as the Office of the Taiwan Provincial Administration. During the 228 Incident, guards of the building opened fire on protesters, causing numerous casualties. It’s now marked a site of injustice.

Chen Chien-jen
Premier
The meaning of this step can be compared with South Africa’s efforts to promote transitional justice. They decided to establish the seat of the Constitutional Court of South Africa at the Number Four Prison in Johannesburg, where Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and many other fighters for democracy had been imprisoned. Preserving sites of injustice demonstrates the government’s determination to prevent these atrocities from happening again.

The premier visited several sites of injustice near the Executive Yuan. The sites serve to commemorate the past and encourage people to reflect on history.

Chen Chien-jen
Premier
The Transitional Justice Commission designated 42 sites of injustice in Taiwan, and there are another 64 potential sites. It’s the government’s responsibility to systematically preserve sites of injustice, turning them into an opportunity to educate the public on the history of Taiwan’s democracy.

Besides the Executive Yuan, plaques were also unveiled at the Ankang Reception House, the Tang Te-chang Memorial Park in Tainan, and the Jing-mei White Terror Memorial Park. The Jing-mei White Terror Memorial Park used to be the Taiwan Garrison Command’s detention center and military court. Minister of Culture Shih Che and Senior Adviser to the President Yao Chia-wen attended the plaque unveiling ceremony, where victims shared stories from Taiwan’s authoritarian past.

Fred Him-san Chin
Victim of political prosecution
I am extremely touched to be taking part in this event today. Our wishes have finally come true. I really hope that in the future, there will be a plaque at every place in Taiwan where things like this happened.

The Executive Yuan is promoting a dedicated law concerning sites of injustice. It urges ruling and opposition lawmakers to uphold human rights and fulfill transitional justice, to preserve a dark chapter of history that must not be erased.

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政院標示不義遺址陳建仁親自揭牌：彰顯政府對於永不再犯的決心

2024-02-26

228事件即將滿77周年，行政院的建物前身是台灣省行政長官公署，當時衛兵曾開槍掃射抗議群眾，因此行政院建築已被公告為不義遺址。院長陳建仁和副院長鄭文燦，(26日)上午在院內親自揭牌，表示未來除了針對全台42處不義遺址進行標示，也將推動"不義遺址保存條例"專法。

行政正副院長陳建仁、鄭文燦，和監察院長陳菊一同替行政院不義遺址標示揭牌。行政院前身，是台灣省行政長官公署，228事件當時，公署衛兵掃射抗議群眾造成死傷，因此決定在行政院設立不義遺址標示。

[[行政院長陳建仁]]
“這所蘊含的意義，可以比擬南非，當時為了推動轉型正義，決定將憲法法院蓋在約翰尼斯堡第四監獄，那個地方就曾經關押過曼德拉、甘地，還有無數民主鬥士的政治監獄，透過保留住過往不義的歷史痕跡，彰顯政府對於永不再犯的決心”

陳建仁一一走向行政院區三處不義遺址標示，期盼透過標示紀念過去事件，在日常生活中喚起民眾歷史記憶。

[[行政院長陳建仁]]
“經過促轉會審定的不義遺址，一共有42處，以往已經經由指認的還有64處，潛在不義遺址，有系統來保持不義遺址，也是政府的責任，把這些不義遺址，轉變成為國人傳承民主記憶的教育基地”

除了行政院，包括安康接待室和台南湯德章紀念公園，還有白色恐怖景美紀念園區同步完成標示設立。景美園區，過去是台灣警備總司令部的軍法處軍事法庭與看守所，在文化部長史哲和總統府資政姚嘉文見證下，大眾得以認識在地威權歷史，以及政治受難者的故事。

[[政治受難者陳欽生]]
“今天來參與這個活動，確確實實是非常的感動，終於我們的希望達成了，我非常非常期待，往後在所有台灣的地方，曾經發生過這些事情的地方，都能夠有這些標示”

行政院正在積極推動制定"不義遺址保存條例"專法，喊話朝野立委能夠秉持人權價值，攜手立法，逐步完成轉型正義，將這段不能遺忘的歷史，讓更多人認識。

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