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TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chair Chen Chu (陳菊) advocated for a “White Terror Memorial Day” in a speech on Monday (March 11).
More than 520 people, including members of the New Taiwan Peace Foundation (NTPF), gathered at the National Human Rights Museum in New Taipei to hear the speech, reported CNA. Scholars, victims of political oppression, and the families of victims were also present.
“People who forget history will inevitably make the same mistakes,” Chen said at the start of her speech. “More than 20,000 people died during the White Terror era, which has become a shared memory of 23 million people in Taiwan,” she said.
The White Terror was the period of political repression in Taiwan that saw the execution of many political dissenters. The period began when the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) declared martial law on May 19, 1949, and ended with the lifting of it on July 15, 1987, by leader Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
Chen worried that the younger generations would forget history and said some confuse the White Terror with the 228 Massacre. By establishing a White Terror Memorial Day, she hopes that Taiwanese society will not forget this period of history so that it can understand the value of democracy, which is the result of continuous hard work from generation to generation.
NTPF Director Michelle Wang (王美琇) echoed Chen’s statements, per Liberty Times. Wang said that the White Terror took the lives, youth, and freedom of at least 20,000 people.
Wang called on the government to designate May 19 every year as White Terror Memorial Day. She hoped to promote public empathy, let the younger generation understand the injustices of White Terror, and prevent such tragedies from happening in the future.
Chen has served as chair of the NHRC and president of the Control Yuan since 2020.
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