Members Of U.S. Congress Call For 65^th Commemoration Of Taiwan’s 2-28 Massacre

In light of the 65th commemoration of Taiwan’s 2-28 Massacre of February 1947, Reps.  Robert Andrews (D-NJ) and Scott Garrett (R-NJ) issued  statements in the Congressional Record urging their colleagues to join them in commemorating this tragic chapter in Taiwan’s history.

The statements recount the history of the Massacre. Rep. Andrews concludes his remarks with: “Mr. Speaker, I have said it before: “Freedom is not negotiable.”May the lessons learned from the 2-28 Massacre continue to inspire the people of Taiwan in their struggle for freedom, full independence, international participation, and for the continued enhancement of the mutual relationship between Taiwan and the United States.”

Rep. Scott Garrett concludes: “Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 65th commemoration of Taiwan’s “2-28 Massacre ” I urge other Members to join me in commemorating this important historical event.”

FAPA President Mark Kao PhD, commented on the recent remarks by former Kuomintang Prime Minister Hau Pei-tsun, who in an editorial in the United Daily News questioned the number of people killed, saying that “only” some 500 people lost their lives.  A Taiwan government report published in the early 1990s concluded that the estimated number of people killed or missing went up to 28,000.

Dr. Kao stated: “It is outrageous that a former high Kuomintang government official still denies that the 228 Massacre took place.  This is equivalent to a denial of the Holocaust in World War II.  President Ma needs to not only dismiss Hau’s remarks but condemn them in the strongest possible terms.”

Dr. Kao concluded: “For there to be a reconciliation in Taiwan, the Ma government needs to take steps to release the many documents that are still kept in the archives of the military and the secret police agencies.  It needs to come clean of the charge that the Kuomintang has engaged in a whitewash of the events in 1947.  Taiwan’s free and open society needs to squarely face the horrors of the atrocities committed 65 years ago.  The truth and reconciliation process has just begun.”

美國會眾議員敦促同僚紀念台灣228大屠殺65周年

2012年2月28日，時值台灣228大屠殺65周年紀念，眾議員蓋瑞(Scott Garrett, (R-NJ)) 與眾議員安德魯斯(Reps. Robert Andrews (D-NJ))，不約而同發表聲明至國會紀錄，敦促其他同僚與他們一齊紀念，台灣歷史中悲劇性的一個章節。

該聲明陳述大屠殺的歷史。眾議員安德魯斯在聲明末指出：「議長，我曾說過:『自由不該被討價還價』。希望台灣人民能夠在其追求自由、邁向獨立、國際參與，以及增強台美雙方關係之路上，持續從228大屠殺的教訓中得到啟發。」

眾議員蓋瑞於聲明指出：「議長，我於今日發言紀念台灣「228大屠殺」65周年，並敦促其他同僚與我一同緬懷這重大歷史事件。」

台灣人公共事務會會長高龍榮，就國民黨前任行政院長郝柏村最近在聯合報社論中質疑228事件「僅有」500人死亡言論一事作出評論。台灣政府在1990年代初期所發表的報告中明確指出，228失蹤或死亡人數，約有28,000人之多。

他表示：「國民黨前任高官竟然否認228屠殺曾發生，令人髮指。這就好比否認二次世界大戰時的大屠殺一樣。馬總統不僅需要否決郝柏村的發言，他也必須嚴厲地譴責這些言論。」

他最後指出:「台灣想要有和解，馬政府就必須採取行動，公布那些仍存放在軍方或警總的檔案。國民黨試圖粉飾在1947年發生的事件真相，必須由馬政府公布。台灣這個自由及開放的社會，必須正視65年前發生的慘劇。真相及和解的進展，才剛剛開始而已。」  

COMMEMORATION OF TAIWAN’S “2-28 MASSACRE” — (Extension of Remarks – February 28, 2012)

SPEECH OF THE HON. ROBERT ANDREWS OF NEW JERSEY IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012

* Mr. ANDREWS Mr. Speaker, I rise today to observe the 65th commemoration of Taiwan’s “”2-28 Massacre.”” The massacre was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 28, 1947 and was violently suppressed by General Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) government during the following weeks. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from ten thousand to thirty thousand.

In the fall of 1945, 50 years of Japanese occupation of Taiwan ended after Japan had lost World War II. In October of that year, the United Nations handed administrative control of Taiwan to the KMT-administered Republic of China (ROC). 16 months of KMT administration on Taiwan led to the widespread impression among the people of Taiwan that the party was plagued by nepotism, corruption, and economic failure.

Tensions increased between the Taiwanese people and the ROC administration. The flashpoint came on February 28, 1947 when in Taipei a dispute between a female cigarette vendor and an officer of the Government’s Office of Monopoly triggered civil disorder and open rebellion by the native Taiwanese against KMT repression.

During the following weeks, Chiang’s government sent troops from China to Taiwan. The Chinese soldiers started to round up and execute a whole generation of a Taiwanese elite of lawyers, doctors, students, professors etc…

It is estimated that up to 30,000 people lost their lives during the turmoil. During the following four decades, the Chinese Nationalists continued to rule Taiwan with an iron fist under a Martial Law that would not be lifted until 1987.

Mr. Speaker, the Massacre had far reaching implications. Over the next half century, the Taiwanese democracy movement that grew out of the event helped pave the way for Taiwan’s momentous transformation from a dictatorship under the Chinese Nationalists to a thriving and pluralistic democracy.

In some ways, the 228 massacre was Taiwan’s “”Boston Massacre”” for both events functioned as the cradle of a move by both peoples to full democracy and helped galvanize the strive to independence.

Mr. Speaker, I have said it before: “”Freedom is not negotiable.”” May the lessons learned from the 2-28 Massacre continue to inspire the people of Taiwan in their struggle for freedom, full independence, international participation, and for the continued enhancement of the mutual relationship between Taiwan and the United States.

I urge my colleagues to join me in commemorating this sad but important historical event.

RECOGNIZING THE 65TH COMMEMORATION OF TAIWAN’S ”2 28 MASSACRE” — (Extensions of Remarks – February 27, 2012)

SPEECH OF
HON. SCOTT GARRETT
OF NEW JERSEY
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2012

Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 65th commemoration of Taiwan’s “2 28 Massacre.”

On February 28, 1947, the brutal arrest of a female civilian in Taipei led to large-scale protests by the native Taiwanese against the repression of Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese Nationalists, who occupied Taiwan on behalf of the Allied Forces after Japan’s defeat in 1945.

During the following days, Chiang’s government sent troops from mainland China to the island. The Chinese soldiers began capturing and executing leading Taiwanese lawyers, doctors, students, and other citizens.

It is estimated that at least 18,000 people lost their lives during the turmoil. During the following four decades, the Chinese Nationalists continued to rule Taiwan under a martial law system that lasted until 1987.

The 2 28 Massacre has had far-reaching implications. Over the next half-century, the Taiwanese democracy movement that grew out of the incident helped pave the way for Taiwan’s momentous transformation from a dictatorship under the Chinese Nationalists to a thriving and pluralistic democracy.

I urge other Members to join me in commemorating this important historical event.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia Commons

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