Wang Kang-lu left Taiwan for the States in 1965, where, as a graduate student, he became heavily involved in the Taiwan independence movement. For this, he was blacklisted by the Chinese Nationalist (KMT) government, something he only learned when he tried to return home to attend his mother’s funeral in the 1980s. His entry was denied. In 1991, more than 20 years after he left, Wang finally made his way back to Taiwan — this time, by boat.

In the early 1990s, blacklisted Taiwanese who had moved overseas found ways to return back home to their country. Some snuck in by boat, others entered with fake passports. They saw the time of democracy coming, and they were eager to go home. Wang was one of them. He later became the secretary general of World United Formosans for Independence, a Taiwan independence advocacy group.

He survived the rough voyage across the Pacific Ocean, but not what was waiting for him on the island. Two years after Wang returned back to Taiwan, he died in a car crash. He was 52.

It happened when Wang was leaving the Chinese Culture University in Taipei, where he was invited to deliver a speech. The taxi he was taking was struck by another car. The case was quickly closed, even though the taxi driver, who was severely injured, testified that the car seemed to be waiting for them at a nearby corner.

“The crash was orchestrated,” said Helen Fang, 77, Wang’s sister-in-law. Fang, former president of the Taiwanese American Association of New York, the same organization that Wang was involved in when he was in the United States, was also blacklisted by the KMT government in the 90s.

Wang and Fang are two of the many victims of the White Terror, the period following the February 28 Massacre when tens of thousands of Taiwanese were detained, arrested, tortured, and killed without public knowledge by the Taiwanese government.

This year will mark the 72nd anniversary of the massacre, but in all this time, Wang’s family believes there has been no convincing investigation into Wang’s death. The technological limitations of that time also leave no evidence to reopen the case today.

“It’s impossible to reconcile; they [the KMT government] never admitted their mistake,” said Fang.

There are efforts underway that are attempting to provide some sort of atonement for the government’s actions during this time, however. Transitional justice, or the process of redressing past human rights violations, in Taiwan has three key components: victims’ compensation, perpetrators’ responsibility, and fair presentation of history, according to the Taiwan Association for Truth and Reconciliation (TATR), a non-governmental organization that was commissioned in 2007 specifically to address transitional justice.

But when there is little evidence, as in Wang’s case, and an insufficient legal framework for transitional justice to take place, things become complicated.

Transitional Justice in Taiwan

The existence of transitional justice marks a transition from a repressive political environment to a democratic one. In Taiwan, both the government and NGOs are now taking action to deal with the issue, though the former was criticized for being late to address it.

TATR is one of the non-profit organizations leading transitional justice work in Taiwan. It mainly focuses on collecting records of previous governments’ atrocities, compiling victims’ data, and publicly promoting the concept of transitional justice to society.

However, victims’ compensation is the only part that has been done in Taiwan, according to Tsai Yu-an, secretary of TATR.

To promote the concept of transitional justice, the non-profit is currently focusing on incorporating it into education.

“It’s easier to start with education because that’s where you can really reach people from all kinds of backgrounds,” she continued. The organization is starting a workshop this year to train high school teachers on how to teach transitional justice in class.

The government has begun to reform its curriculum as well, starting from this year, to better address the issue of transitional justice. Before that, Tsai added, some teachers would want to include transitional justice topics in history class, but often lacked educational resources or a background to offer students a comprehensive lesson.

The lack of government support to push transitional justice has long been a problem, according to advocates, and education is not the only area that is in need of resources. In 2018, the Taiwanese government finally established The Transitional Justice Commission (TJC)– the first time government officials recognized the necessity to address the issue and took an initiative to do so.

The Commission is a two-year body created to deal with the human rights violations perpetrated by the KMT government between 1945 to 1992. The team aims to investigate the atrocities that took place during Chiang’s dictatorship, remove symbols of the authoritarian government, work to help victims receive reparation, seek responsibility of perpetrators, and take measures to rebuild trust in the society.

However, transitional justice in Taiwan is often deemed to have political bias, and there is debate over whether the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government uses it for their own political gains — because the KMT is still the largest opposition party to the DPP.   

The impartiality of the group was harshly criticized when a recording of Chang Tien-chin, now former vice chairperson of TJC, suggesting using the commission to attack Hou You-yi, then KMT Mayoral Candidate for New Taipei City, was leaked to the press.

A couple months later, a separate incident also showed that the government still had a long way to go before transitional justice was to be accepted by society.  

After Minister of Culture Cheng li-chun proposed discussions on renaming Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, she was publicly slapped in the face by Lisa Cheng, a veteran singer, who later  reluctantly apologized, but added that “all those who love the Republic of China should giver her [Minister Cheng] a slap across the face.”

Example like this signal that Taiwan society is not ready for a thorough investigation into Chiang government’s wrongdoings and do not see the value of looking back at the human rights abuse inflicted under the repressive regime, said advocates.

“It seems like Taiwanese society does not repel authoritarianism,” said Tsai. “People are still talking about how the economy soared during Chiang Ching-kuo’s time. Transitional justice might feel distant to a lot of people.”

Seeking justice

Fang said she did not see any possibility for a better explanation of her brother-in-law’s death.

“Even cases like the Lin Family Massacre went unsolved,” she said.

The Lin Family Massacre was the killing of three family members of Lin Yi-hsiung, former DPP chairman and a leader in Taiwan democracy movement, in 1979. Due to Lin’s involvement in the Formosa Incident, he was in detention at the time when his mother and twin 7-year-old daughters were stabbed to death in their house in Taipei.

“Transitional justice doesn’t seem to be very effective,” Fang continued.

“Who killed my brother? An apology wouldn’t mean much if there’s no truth,” she said.“Who made the order? Who was the one that executed the order? They might not even be alive anymore.”

Fang’s questions reflect a larger issue: how do transitional justice workers deal with individual perpetrators when there is a lack of transparency in the power structure?

“We need to look at the perpetrating body and see how the power was distributed,” Tsai explained. “We can’t view all perpetrators in the same way.”

In order to hold individuals responsible for their actions, there need to be regulations in place that determine how transitional justice is carried out. But before that, government officials have to conduct thorough examinations into the the perpetrator system, something that is currently absent in the Transitional Justice Commission.

Besides of limited human and financial resources, the only victims and survivors who will receive transitional justice from organizations like TATR are those who currently reside in Taiwan.

Can survivors heal?

Today, the February 28 Massacre is a historical incident that people only talk about once a year. The White Terror, as well, no longer continues. But the memories remain, and the wounds are left untreated.

Some older Taiwanese people — not only survivors and their families but also those who witnessed the violence — are still suffering from the trauma.

Many of these individuals still have nightmares about the torture and killings they went through or witnessed. Some, said Tsai, still keep their household registration certificates with them all the time, fearing that government agents will check on them anytime.

Survivor trauma has been a topic of intense discussion in the context of 228 and the White Terror, but it was only recently that people began to call it what it was: Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Last June, TJC announced a program that would provide survivors with services treating trauma that stemmed from politically-motivated violence (政治暴力創傷療癒試行計畫). The Commission has said the program is currently undergoing trial to test its effectiveness.

Fang said time seems to be able to wash away anger, but to her and other survivors of the 228 Massacre and the White Terror, a family member’s death makes a trust of or reconciliation with the government impossible .

“It’s extremely difficult to heal. We can only ease their pain; there’s no way to give their family and youth back,” said Tsai.