Taipei, June 28 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian said Saturday his administration will unveil a package of national human rights action guidelines next year in line with a resolution reached at a recent world conference on human rights.
Chen made the announcement while attending the closing ceremony for a seminar on new historical documents regarding the 2-28 Incident of 1947.
The 2-28 incident was a taboo subject for years and the families of the victims lived in terror of the KMT's goons for years afterward until former President Lee Teng-hui formally apologized for the tragic chapter in the island's history and tried to heal the decades-old wounds.
Since taking power in May 2000, Chen said, his Democratic Progressive Party administration has spared no efforts in uncovering the truth surrounding the incident and vindicating victims.
Chen said the Cabinet will present "fame restoration" certificates to 2-28 Incident surviving victims or family members of deceased victims in a ceremony held Aug. 2. "I'll attend the ceremony to show my respect for the victims," he said.
In the past few years, Chen said, the National Archives Bureau has collected 58,000 new documents regarding the tragic incident. Through the declassification of government files on the 2-28 incident and the discovery of new historical documents, Chen said, some unclear points regarding the incident can be gradually clarified.
Chen said the ultimate goal of the 2-28 Incident study is to prevent the recurrence of a similar tragedy.
Following Taiwan's democratization, Chen said the government must step up human rights legislation and education to ward off human rights abuses.
In addition to unveiling a human rights white paper last year, Chen said his administration will unveil human rights action guidelines next year to set a medium- and long-term working agenda.