On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Feb. 28 Incident occured in 1947, President Lee Teng-hui urges his fellow countrymen to walk out of the shadow of the unfortunate incident and work together to establish a better homeland for future generations.
The President makes the remarks while receiving a group of relatives of the victims from the United States.
President Lee tells them that, over the past 50 years, the nation and society have been paying a tremendous price for the incident, when many people were killed in clashes between government troops and local residents of Taiwan. Aiming at avoiding the recurrence of a similar tragedy in the future, the government of the Republic of China has spared no efforts at promoting democratization in recent years, adds the President.
"We hope that every one of us and our offspring will be able to live in an environment free from fear," the President says. He also pledges to do more to help young people better understand Taiwan's history over the past 400 years. Such understanding, he notes, is a prerequisite for nurturing their love for their homeland.
In order to help the ROC reach the level of a modern nation in every sense, President Lee emphasizes the importance of the spiritual reengineering, adding that the people's mind should adjust to a democratic society.
During the meeting, the guests also talk about the sad feelings they havehad during the past 50 years. They go further to suggest that the government open more official archives to the public so that people can know more about the truth of the Feb. 28 Incident and its aftermath, thus healing the wound of those who suffered from the incident as soon as possible.
The guests are accompanied by Dr. James C.Y. Chu, chairman of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission, to the Office of the President for the meeting. Dr. Huang Kun-huei, secretary-general to the President, is also present.