To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the 228 Incident this year, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) visited Ankang Reception House, a former detention center for political prisoners, in New Taipei City on Feb. 27.
Those present included Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊), Presidential Office senior advisor Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), political victim Chen Chung-hsing (陳忠信), Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te, Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥), and Commissioner of the Transitional Justice Commission Yeh Hung-ling (葉虹靈).
President Tsai stated that, previously operated by the Bureau of Investigation from 1974 to 1987 when Taiwan was under Martial Law, the reception house was used to interrogate and torture political prisoners, and now it has been designated as the historical site of injustice. The Executive Yuan plans to transfer the Ankang Reception House to the Ministry of Culture's National Human Rights Museum, making it one of the bases for promoting human rights education, and a place where historical truth can continue to be witnessed and remembered.
President Tsai said that the government will never return to authoritarianism as it continues to promote transitional justice. Whether the development of Taiwan's democracy or the work of transitional justice, it will keep moving forward and will not stop, Tsai added.
The Ministry of Culture stated that the Executive Yuan has instructed MOC to establish a special task force on the preservation of the Ankang Reception House, inviting the Ministry of Justice, the National Property Administration, Transitional Justice Commission, and the Cultural Affairs Department of the New Taipei City Government to work on various tasks, in the hope that the Ankang Reception House will be preserved appropriately and serve as an important site for human rights education in the future.
With regards to the public's proposal to include Ankang Reception House as a cultural asset, MOC said that it recognizes and supports the proposal. Hence, it will actively provide necessary assistance to ensure that it meets the requirements.