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The Transitional Justice Commission (TJC; ) was an independent government agency of the
Republic of China (Taiwan) Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
active from 31 May 2018 to 30 May 2022 based on the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice. The commission is responsible for the investigation of actions taken by the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
between 15 August 1945 and 6 November 1992. The commission's main aims include: making political archives more readily available, removing authoritarian symbols, redressing judicial injustice, and producing a report on the history of the period which delineates steps to further promote transitional justice.


History

The Act on Promoting Transitional Justice () was passed by the
Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...
on 5 December 2017. The act sought to rectify injustices committed by the authoritarian Kuomintang government of the Republic of China on
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, and to this end established the Transitional Justice Commission to investigate actions taken from 15 August 1945, the date of the
Hirohito surrender broadcast The Hirohito surrender broadcast (, ), was a radio broadcast of surrender given by Hirohito, the emperor of Japan, on August 15, 1945. It announced to the Japanese people that the Japanese government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration, which d ...
, to 6 November 1992, when president
Lee Teng-hui Lee Teng-hui (; pinyin: ''Lǐ Dēnghuī''; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese politician and agricultural scientist who served as the fourth president of the Republic of China, president of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) unde ...
lifted the
Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion The Temporary Provisions Effective During the Period of National Mobilization for Suppression of the Communist Rebellion provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of China were effective from 1948 to 1991 and amended four times by the Centr ...
for Fuchien Province, Republic of China, ending the period of mobilization. This time period, in particular, includes the
February 28 Incident The February 28 incident (also called the February 28 massacre, the 228 incident, or the 228 massacre) was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan in 1947 that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang–led nationalist government of the R ...
as well as White Terror. The commission was established formally on May 31, 2018 for a period of two years. Huang Huang-hsiung was chosen to chair the committee and five other members were nominated by 31 March 2018: Chang Tien-chin, Hua Yih-fen, Hsu Hsueh-chi, Eleng Tjaljimaraw, and Greg Yo. Peng Jen-yu, Yang Tsui, and Yeh Hung-ling were selected on 7 April. All nine candidates were confirmed in May 2018, though both the Kuomintang and People First Party legislative caucuses abstained from voting. The committee began operations on 31 May 2018. Following a scandal, vice chairman Chang Tien-chin resigned from the commission on 12 September 2018, Huang Huang-hsiung resigned the chairmanship on 6 October 2018, and was subsequently appointed acting chairperson. In April 2020, the Legislative Yuan extended the committee's tenure by one year, and the committee members were formally reappointed on May 26, 2020, although the
Pan-Blue Coalition The Pan-Blue coalition, Pan-Blue force or Pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and You ...
again boycotted the vote. Yang Tsui was formally elected chairperson, serving alongside committee members Awi Mona, Chen Yu-fan, Hsu Wei-chun, Lin Chia-fan, Peng Jen-yu, Frank Wang, and Yeh Hung-ling. Following this extension, the Commission is scheduled to deliver its final report in May 2021.


Interaction with other transitional justice organizations

The commission has worked together with other organizations dedicated to transitional justice, such as the May 18 Memorial Foundation from
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
and the Stasi Records Agency of
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. An exhibit on the Gwangju Uprising opened in Taipei on 6 December 2019 and a letter of intent to hold regular workshops and exchanges with the Stasi Records Agency was signed on 13 December 2019.


Website blockage in Hong Kong

On 13 February 2021, Hong Kong
netizen The term ''netizen'' is a portmanteau of the English words ''internet'' and ''citizen'', as in a "citizen of the net" or "net citizen". It describes a person actively involved in online communities or the Internet in general.
s reported that its website cannot be accessed from Hong Kong. Some local medias confirmed that they couldn't access the site without using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). The police refused to comment on the blockage.


Results


Exonerating political convictions

As a result of the commission's recommendations, a total of 5,837 people convicted of political crimes during White Terror have been exonerated due to recommendations made by the commission. The first recommendation, also the first in Taiwanese history, came on 5 October 2018, when 1,270 people were exonerated, including writer Yang Kui and 27 Taiwanese aborigines. On 27 February 1,056 people were exonerated. On 30 May 2019, 3,062 people were exonerated, including former vice president Annette Lu, former mayor of
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of approximately 2.73 million p ...
Chen Chu, editor of '' Free China Journal''
Lei Chen Lei Chen (; 8 July 1897 – 7 March 1979) was a Chinese people, Chinese politician and dissident who was the early leading figure in the movement to bring fuller democracy to the government of the Republic of China. Born in Zhejiang in 1897, Le ...
, and Shih Ming-teh. On November 8, 2020, the commission further overturned 12 sentences, bringing the total to 5,874. On October 2, 2021 the Commission overturned the sentences of five inmates who were executed in the 1970 Taiyuan Incident.


Removing symbols of authoritarianism

On 17 December 2018, the commission recommended that the honor guard at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall be discontinued, as it is a symbol of the authoritarian era. The commission also recommended that the hall display permanent exhibits dedicated to
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
and
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
. On 30 March 2019, the commission announced its intention to survey roads in Taiwan named after Chiang Kai-shek for potential renaming, as well as a survey on statues of Chiang in parks across the country for potential removal. A report was released on July 10, 2020 which listed a total of 1,814 sites named after Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo, as well as 1,235 monuments to them, and 848 statues of Chiang Kai-shek remaining (excluding those in Cihu Park). The commission recommended the removal of the statues and renaming of the sites, leaving implementation to the respective agencies. On October 26, 2020, the commission reported that 70% of the statues have been removed. On April 6, 2021, the commission reported that 537 authoritarian symbols remained, while 403 have been removed, though the
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, Ministry of Defense and
Veterans Affairs Council The Veterans Affairs Council (VAC; ) is a branch of the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan) with "responsibilities to assist in education assistance, employment assistance, medical care, home care and other general services" for retir ...
have not reported on statues within their jurisdiction. In April 2024, the DPP-led government announced that it would remove 760 remaining statues of Chiang Kai-shek.


Declassifying documents from the martial law period

On 4 July 2019, the
Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan () is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for four-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a ...
passed a bill declassifying all government documents relating to the
February 28 Incident The February 28 incident (also called the February 28 massacre, the 228 incident, or the 228 massacre) was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan in 1947 that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang–led nationalist government of the R ...
, White Terror and period of mobilization. When the act was passed, the National Security Bureau held files concerning the deaths of Chen Wen-chen and the Lin family massacre which were still classified. On 7 December 2019, the commission announced that government intelligence reports regarding the Kaohsiung Incident had been declassified. The reports were said to show that the government had an informer inside staff of '' Formosa Magazine'', which organized the protests. The commission did not say when the reports would be released to the public. On 17 February 2020, the commission released a report that found that intelligence agencies were most likely involved in the Lin family massacre during martial law. The report found that Lin had been under surveillance for the year leading up to the murders, and that the National Security Bureau had destroyed evidence related to the murders. On 28 February 2020, President
Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; pinyin: ''Cài Yīngwén''; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party ...
ordered the National Security Bureau to declassify political documents requested by the commission within one month. On March 28, the National Security Bureau transferred the files to the National Archives Administration, including files related to the Lin family massacre and the death of Chen Wen-chen. On 4 May 2020, a report on the death of Chen Wen-chen was released. It concluded that Chen was most likely killed by state security, in contradiction with the official ruling of suicide at the time. Some of the declassified files have shown a close relationship between the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
and members of the Bamboo Union gang during martial law. Documents from the Taiwan Provincial Police Division, now the
National Police Agency National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Canada: Royal Canadian Mounted Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: National Revolut ...
, declassified on November 12, 2020 showed the extent of the KMT surveillance apparatus, which continued until
Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...
won the presidency in 2000 and reached its peak of 15,000 people in a year.


Political trials database and reports

On February 26, 2020, the commission publicly released a database consisting of government documents concerning military trials during martial law, covering 3,195 court cases. The database does not contain information on those who were executed without trial. This database was expanded to include 13,000 cases by February 2021, revealing that Chiang Kai-shek participated directly in about 5,000 of them. The database also showed that 55% of the defendants were born in Taiwan, while 45% were born in China. On 8 March 2020, a report totalling over 1,200 pages titled ''The Draft Report on the Truth of the 228 Incident and Transitional Justice'' was published by the commission.


Other

In May 2020, the commission announced that the concept of transitional justice would be included as a part of the civics and social sciences curriculum in public schools, in addition to the current topics of human rights and state-perpetrated violence.


Eastern Depot scandal

During an internal meeting on 24 August 2018, then vice chairperson Chang Tien-chin named Hou You-yi, who was then running for mayor of
New Taipei City New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...
as a member of the opposition
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...
party, as a potential subject of investigation to benefit his party, the ruling
Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...
, in the 2018 Taiwanese municipal elections. During the conversation, researcher Hsiao Jinan compared the committee to the Eastern Depot from the
Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
. Associate researcher Wu Pei-rong recorded the conversation and leaked it to the media. It was published on 11 September 2018 and resulted in Chang's resignation the next day, followed by Wu and Hsiao shortly thereafter. Commission chairperson Huang also resigned a month later. Commission member Yang Tsui subsequently served as Acting Chairperson before being formally named Chairperson on 26 May 2020. Chang was later impeached by the
Control Yuan The Control Yuan is the supervisory and auditory branch of the government of the Republic of China, both during its time in mainland China and Taiwan. Designed as a hybrid of auditor and ombudsman by Taiwanese law, the Control Yuan holds th ...
on 1 October 2019.


Final report and dissolution

A mission conclusion report is due to be published on 30 May 2022, after which the Transitional Justice Commission will be dissolved. A transitional justice board will replace the TJC and be responsible for coordination of transitional justice initiatives between government agencies. The report recommended removing Chiang from currencies.


Chairpersons


See also

* Ill-gotten Party Assets Settlement Committee


References

{{Authority control 2018 establishments in Taiwan Executive Yuan Government agencies established in 2018 Political repression in Taiwan Truth and reconciliation commissions Presidency of Tsai Ing-wen Government agencies disestablished in 2022 2022 disestablishments in Taiwan