President Lai meets with 228 Incident overseas survivors group

Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said his government would continue to firmly unite Taiwan and protect its people on Monday, during a meeting with the Overseas 228 Survivors Homecoming Group in Taipei.

Lai thanked the group for its longstanding work of actively speaking out for Taiwan, noting that it had been 78 years since the 228 Incident.

Tens of thousands of people, including numerous Taiwanese intellectuals and elites were subsequently killed or imprisoned by then-ruling Kuomintang (KMT) in the aftermath of the 1947 anti-government uprising.

The president said that the passing of these social elites had caused incalculable losses to Taiwanese society, as he again offered an apology on behalf of the government to the families of the victims.

Lai said the government would "definitely" do what needs to be done regarding remedial measures, including admitting its mistakes, apologizing, compensating, investigating the truth, restoring reputations, revoking judgments and setting up memorials and monuments.

To prevent similar incidents from happening again, Lai said the government must defend Taiwan's sovereignty and insist that the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other.

The president added that the future of Taiwan could only be decided by its 23 million people.

At a separate event with the Overseas 228 Survivors Homecoming Group, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Monday that it was the government's responsibility to protect Taiwan's security and prevent the Chinese Communist Party from harboring any illusions about the country.