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Ma dismisses Hau
Pei-tsunˇ¦s 228 comments
STRONG REACTION: Family members of victims who
also attended a 228 exhibition yesterday condemned the former premier, urging
him not to rub salt into wounds
By Mo Yan-chih / Staff Reporter
Residents of Chiayi gather at
Taiwanˇ¦s first 228 memorial shrine yesterday to remember family members who were
killed in the massacre.
Photo: CNA
The government is obligated to uncover the
truth behind the 228 Massacre and relieve the pain of victimsˇ¦ families,
President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E) said yesterday, dismissing comments by former
premier Hau Pei-tsun (°q¬f§ř) earlier this week that cast doubt on the number of
people killed in the incident.
Ma, attending an exhibition in Taipei in memory of members of the judiciary
killed in the massacre, acknowledged the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
regimeˇ¦s poor handling of the incident and said his administration would
continue efforts to uncover the historical truth, learn lessons and avoid making
the same mistakes.
ˇ§The focus is not on the number of the people that were killed ... The
then-government mishandled the incident and of course the government is
responsible for the consequences,ˇ¨ he said at Taipeiˇ¦s 228 Memorial Museum.
The presidentˇ¦s remarks came amid a recent dispute over Hauˇ¦s comments that only
about 500 people ˇX instead of the commonly seen estimates of about 30,000 ˇX were
killed during the massacre.
In a Chinese-language op-ed piece published in the United Daily News on Tuesday,
Hau challenged the content of a history textbook which states that more than
10,000 people were killed during the 228 Massacre and said that in his view,
only a little more than 500 people were killed in the crackdown.
The 228 Massacre refers to a nationwide uprising against the KMT regime that
broke out on Feb. 27, 1947, two years after the KMT took over Taiwan, because of
government corruption and economic hardships.
The op-ed drew a strong reaction from victimsˇ¦ families, who criticized Hau for
what they said were distortions of the truth.
Ma, who has emphasized his efforts to uncover the truths about the incident,
dismissed Hauˇ¦s comments for the first time yesterday.
Family members of the victims who attended the exhibition yesterday also
condemned Hau, urging him not to rub salt into their wounds.
ˇ§The actual number of victims is not the most important issue here, but no one
should take advantage of the massacre,ˇ¨ said Wang Ke-shao (¤ý§J˛Đ), whose father
was taken by the KMT during the incident, never to return home.
ˇ§The number of people who were killed in the incident is clearly stated, it was
between 18,000 and 28,000,ˇ¨ he said.
Wang said his father, the first Taiwanese to serve as a prosecutor in Japan, was
taken away by the KMT on March 14, 1947, for reasons that were never disclosed.
While agreeing with the government that the massacre was not a confrontation
between ethnic groups, he demanded that government documents be released and
that an archive be established that is accessible to families of the victims.
ˇ§At least let me know when my father died, where he died and what the crimes he
was accused of were,ˇ¨ he said.
Attending the exhibition, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (°qŔsŮy), the son of Hau
Pei-tsun, declined to comment on his fatherˇ¦s controversial remarks while
insisting that the government should be devoted to uncovering the truth.
ˇ§The truths of the 228 Massacre should be uncovered and we should learn the
lessons. More importantly, we must be sympathetic about the hardship and the
pain of the victimsˇ¦ families,ˇ¨ he said.
The 228 exhibition displays manuscripts and artifacts from members of the
judiciary who were killed in the uprising.
The exhibition reminds the government of the serious consequences of incorrect
policy decisions and it helps memorialize the spirits of the dead, said Hau
Lung-bin, who organized the event.
The exhibition at the 228 Memorial Museum runs until June 3.
Additional reporting by CNA
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