Argentina and Taiwan share a tragic past. Both have not totally dealt with its legacy.
by María Vardé*
*Text of a video prepared for the 77th anniversary of the 228 Incident in Taiwan.
Today we commemorate the 77th anniversary of the events of February 28, 1947, when thousands of Taiwanese lost their lives at the hands of government violence. The tragic events of that day marked the beginning of a truly sad and extremely long period in Taiwan’s history. It is a date to remember and honor the victims and their families, and the best way to do so is to reaffirm the commitment to truth and justice that Taiwan has been seeking for more than three decades after the end of the Martial Law in 1987.
A commitment to the truth not only means denouncing the crimes of the past. It is even more imperative to lay the foundations to prevent those or any other remotely similar events from happening again. I was born in Argentina a few years after the end of the last dictatorship. Although I was not there to see what happened during that period, I was able to witness the strong impact it had, and continues to have, on the entire Argentinian population. The controversy about the true causes and consequences of that dictatorship is still debated from different historical perspectives. What is common to all, however, is the memory of the horrors of thousands of illegal detentions, tortures and disappearances, which remain as a dark stain, an echo of sadness, a reminder of what can happen when social and political disagreements lead to violence. If there is one legacy of these events, it is the fear that they could be repeated. This is true for Argentina as it is for Taiwan.
In recent decades, in countries where state violence took place, discourses defending human rights and condemning their violations have intensified. Figures, testimonies and the declassification of documents have been put at the service of memory. However, much remains to be done, especially when laws are misused by corrupt agencies or officials to persecute political dissidents and ethnic and religious minorities. When this happens, remembering the past is not enough to guarantee peace; it is also necessary to apply that memory by controlling that the state does not exercise unlawful power over citizens again.
The misuse of laws to criminalize and harass minorities and dissidents is an attitude as authoritarian as that of a dictatorship, with the aggravating factor that it attempts to camouflage itself under the guise of democratic actions based on law. The result is a multiple deterioration of the common good, while at the same time public opinion is convinced that it is being defended. In Argentina, we are currently witnessing the criminalization of religious minorities under stigmatizing terminology that has little to do with the law. This situation threatens religious freedom and encourages the population to discriminate against any way of life or belief that differs from what is considered “normal,” thus once again endangering the human rights that are so often claimed to be defended in democracy.
In Taiwan, the case of Tai Ji Men is paradigmatic. It is noteworthy that this case began in the context of a political purge against religious minorities that took place shortly after the first democratic presidential elections. For years, Tai Ji Men struggled for justice, protesting peacefully and suffering discrimination and violence at the hands of the state. Numerous experts have analyzed the legal details of the case in depth and concluded that there was no crime or fraud on the part of the Tai Ji Men or their Grand Master, Dr. Hong. The courts also have declared the accusations to be false, including tax evasion. Scholars and human rights activists have gathered in various forums, webinars, and conferences around the world to discuss the damage this situation has caused to Tai Ji Men and to freedom of religion or belief in Taiwan, and yet there is still no resolution.
Given the recent history of violence that our nations have endured, it is necessary to make it clear that acts of persecution of minorities are not admissible. They represent remnants of the past and threaten the establishment of a new period of peace and harmony among the population. Ultimately, they undermine confidence that full democracy is possible.
Transitional justice is necessary to redress the crimes against humanity of the past, and also requires condemning the present violations of freedom and human rights. Positively and emphatically resolving the Tai Ji Men case would demonstrate Taiwan’s commitment to justice and democracy.
Maria Vardé graduated in Anthropological Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires and is currently a researcher at the Instituto de Ciencias Antropológicas, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Buenos Aires (Institute of Anthropological Sciences, Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities, University of Buenos Aires). She has written and lectured on archeology, spirituality, and freedom of religion or belief.
