Human rights activists in Taiwan are protesting a Kuomintang proposed amendment to expand the "site of injustice preservation act" to include incidents prior to 1945 and the White Terror period, an era of authoritarian rule under the Kuomintang.
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00:00In the spotlight at the legislature is how to preserve Taiwan's historical
00:04sites of injustice like this one from the White Terror era, an almost four
00:10decade long period of brutal martial law which saw tens of thousands of people
00:16imprisoned and killed under Kuomintang rule. This Taipei Post Office was where
00:22military police and civilians clashed on February 28th, 1947, one of the events
00:29that triggered the authoritarian crackdown. The Kuomintang today is the
00:33main opposition party and at the legislature lawmakers from across the
00:38political spectrum are reviewing various proposals on what preserving sites like
00:43this looks like. A group of human rights activists are taking issue with one
00:48particular proposal from two Kuomintang lawmakers to expand the definition of
00:53sites of injustice beyond the White Terror period to include those from the
00:58Qing Dynasty and the Japanese colonial era. They say this downplays the harm
01:04caused by the then Kuomintang regime.
01:18Those calling for the changes say they're necessary to acknowledge all
01:23injustices committed on this land.
01:40At the heart of this debate is transitional justice, the effort to
01:45recognize historical truths and compensate for atrocities committed
01:49before Taiwan's shift to democracy. While the Kuomintang says all
01:54oppressions should be included in Taiwan's dark history, some activists are
01:59concerned that the Kuomintang is attempting to evade responsibility and
02:03its role in the country's hard-won democracy.
02:06Devon Tsai and Joyce Sun in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.