‘DUMBED DOWN’: The incident reflects a misunderstanding of transitional justice, which is often portrayed as an attempt to erase Chiang from history, a lawmaker said
Taipei Times
Date: Jan 25, 2019
By: Ann Maxon / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and victims of political repression
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Mei-nu, second left, is accompanied by DPP Legislator Chou Chun-mi, left, Formosan Political Prisoners Association honorary director-general Tsai Kuan-yu, second right, and 1950s White Terror Victims’ Association president Lan Yun-juo, right, at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
yesterday backed Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) for promoting the transformation of Taipei’s Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall after she was slapped in the face by a former entertainer who opposed the policy.
“It was painful to see the minister insulted for believing in and working to promote transitional justice. We felt as if we had been slapped in the face ourselves,” 1950s White Terror Victims’ Association president Lan Yun-juo (藍芸若) said as she read out a joint statement by political victims and their families.
Her father, Lang Ming-ku (藍明谷), a then-32-year-old high-school teacher in Keelung, was arrested and executed without trial in 1951 for advocating social reforms.
While people have the right to freely express their opinions, “using physical violence or verbal insults is not only undemocratic, but a sign that authoritarianism continues to exist,” the statement said. [FULL STORY]
