PARTISAN POLITICS UNDERLIES COMMEMORATIONS OF THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TAIPEI 000467

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/01/2027
TAGS: PGOV TW
SUBJECT: PARTISAN POLITICS UNDERLIES COMMEMORATIONS OF THE
"228 INCIDENT"


Classified By: AIT Director Stephen M. Young,
Reasons: 1.4 (b/d)


1. (C) Summary: Over the past several days, President Chen
used a series of speeches commemorating the tragic February
28, 1947 Incident as a vehicle to attack the KMT, including
the late Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT's leading presidential
contender for 2008, Ma Ying-jeou. Chen linked the current
DPP election issue of "ill-gotten KMT party assets" to the
"228 Incident" and argued that Ma does not have "the moral
standard to be the leader of a country." In addition to
participating in "228" activities, Ma published an article
urging the people to reject DPP efforts to create divisions
between Taiwanese and Mainlanders for election purposes.
This divisive issue is clearly going to figure in DPP
campaigning for upcoming Legislative Yuan (LY) and
presidential elections, though it is unclear at this stage
how the voting masses will respond. End Summary.


2. (C) Several days of often partisan ceremonies
commemorating the 60th anniversary of the "228 Incident"
wound up on February 28 with the dedication of a new national
"228" Memorial Museum (in a Japanese-era building used by
USIS for many years),the issuance of the first stamp bearing
the name "Taiwan" rather than "ROC Postal Administration," an
official memorial ceremony in Taipei, and two outdoor
concerts. Commemorative activities were also held in other
cities throughout the island on February 28. Accompanied by
other top Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leaders,
President Chen Shui-bian delivered speeches at the museum
dedication and the central government's formal ceremony. On
the same day, former Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman and announced
presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou participated in "228"
ceremonies in Tainan County, the President's home district.
While DPP leaders have suggested there will be more "228"
activities throughout the coming year, they have not said
what those activities will be.

Note: The "228 Incident"
--------------


3. (C) The "228 Incident" (February 28, 1947) began with an
altercation between government agents and a peddler suspected
of selling smuggled cigarettes, which exploded into a popular
uprising against KMT local government corruption and
repression. Although tensions appeared to be calming
somewhat, Governor Chen Yi persuaded KMT strongman Chiang
Kai-shek to send troops to suppress opponents of the
government. Arriving in early March, these troops
indiscriminately killed thousands of Taiwanese (the numbers
are a subject of controversy),including some very prominent
members of the Taiwanese elite, in their quest to regain
complete control. Subsequently, Chiang Kai-shek retreated to
Taiwan in 1949, the government imposed martial law until
1987, and "228" became a forbidden topic for almost four
decades. Following the lifting of martial law, the KMT
government began taking steps to address the Incident and
make some financial restitution to the families of victims.

President Chen
--------------


4. (C) Over the past several days, President Chen used a
series of "228" speeches to attack former KMT strongman
Chiang Kai-shek, the KMT, and presidential candidate Ma
Ying-jeou. Chen claimed that a report issued last year
provided evidence proving that Chiang Kai-shek was the "prime
culprit" of "228." Therefore, Chen stated, the government
should continue steps to downgrade Chiang, including moving
his remains from a ceremonial resting place to a military
cemetery and turning the Chiang Kai-shek memorial in downtown
Taipei to another use. Chen linked the 1947 incident to the
follow-on decades of "White Terror" and martial law and
called for the investigation of the perpetrators of human
rights violations in both periods. In articles and speeches,
some other DPP leaders urged the KMT to open its party
archives to reveal more about the truth of "228."


5. (C) Without referring by name to Ma Ying-jeou, Chen
directed his strongest barbs at the KMT leader. Chen

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rejected Ma's interpretation of "228" as "a popular uprising
against official repression," arguing that the incident was a
"massacre" and a "persecution of democracy and human rights"
by an outside party-government dictatorial regime. Noting
that former KMT President Lee Teng-hui had apologized for
"228," Chen said the KMT also owed the people an apology for
the following 38 years of martial law (1949-87) and for the
party-state system's injustices, especially the KMT's
accumulation of vast "unjust" assets, which should be
returned to the people. Chen charged Ma with being
two-faced, apologizing for "228" but rushing to sell off
party assets at bargain-basement prices. According to Chen,
Ma's behavior indicates that he "absolutely lacks the moral
standard to lead a country." In addition to Chen's speeches,
the DPP launched other attacks on Ma. For example, a sign
prominently displayed at the entrance to a Green-sponsored
"228" choral concert read, "Taipei Mayor (Ma Ying-jeou) is an
embezzler, knave."

Ma Ying-jeou
--------------


6. (C) The KMT and Ma held a number of commemorative events
with family members of 228 victims in the run-up to February

28. On February 28. Ma also participated in a Tainan County
government ceremony. The DPP County Magistrate complemented
Ma for courage in attending an event in President Chen's home
county and then berated him over the issue of KMT party
assets, which he said should be used to pay compensation to
the families of "228" victims. Ma defended himself and
suggested that Chiang Kai-shek was acting in his government
and military, rather than KMT, capacity in ordering steps to
pacify Taiwan. In the evening, DPP supporters heckled Ma for
"putting on a show" as he visited an outdoor pro-Green pop
concert. At the concert, Ma refused to sign a "Transitional
Justice Declaration" prepared by event organizers on the
grounds that it did not acknowledge past efforts by the KMT
government to address the "228 Incident." This declaration
was signed by DPP leaders, former President Lee Teng-hui, and
even KMT Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng.


7. (C) Ma Ying-jeou, who expected attacks from President
Chen and other DPP leaders, participated in a series of KMT
"228" commemorative activities over the past several days.
In addition Ma published a signed article in the pro-Blue
United Daily News on February 28, entitled, "Five Promises on
228: Do we hand down to our children 60 years of hatred or a
hopeful future? Ma urged the people to promise to say no to
DPP efforts to divide ethnic groups (Taiwanese and
Mainlanders) for election purposes, to combat DPP corruption,
and to work to sign a peace agreement and open direct links
with the Mainland, in order to allow Taiwan to become an open
and maturing "island." On the ethnic issue, Ma argued rather
emotionally that it is time to stop labeling people as
Mainlanders. On corruption, Ma linked the 1947 protests
against corrupt officials to the recent "Red Shirt Movement"
against corruption in the DPP leadership.


8. (C) While most of the "228" events over the past several
days were distinctly partisan, KMT Taichung Mayor Jason Hu
succeeded in holding a simple but moving tree planting
ceremony in a harmonious atmosphere that was unmarred by
political rhetoric. Some prominent public figures, including
former DPP Chairman Lin Yi-hsiung, have urged politicians not
to use "228" for divisive political purposes.

Comment
--------------


9. (C) President Chen and other DPP leaders are using the
"228" incident as a political weapon to try to discredit the
KMT in the eyes of the Taiwanese public and to undermine
support for Ma Ying-jeou. To increase the effects, the party
is now trying to broaden the meaning of "228" to include the
subsequent period (1949-87) of KMT authoritarian rule and
also the current issue of KMT party assets. The DPP hopes to
schedule a referendum on recovering "ill-gotten KMT party
assets" to coincide with the 2008 presidential election. The
February 28 outdoor choral concert featured a drive to
collect signatures needed to put the referendum on the

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ballot. Over the coming year, the DPP will probably launch a
number of election gambits aimed at keeping Ma and the KMT
off-balance and on the defensive. The KMT is charging the
DPP with playing politics and undermining ethnic harmony
between Taiwanese and Mainlanders. They may hope that the
voters will see them as reasonable and forward-looking in
contrast to a backward-looking, ideological DPP.
YOUNG