Lai, envoys highlight importance of remembering Holocaust at Taipei event

Taipei, April 23 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) on Wednesday joined Israeli and German envoys to Taiwan in remembering victims and survivors of the Holocaust during an annual memorial event in Taipei.

In a rare English language address made during International Holocaust Remembrance Day in Taipei, the president said the policies of the authoritarian Nazi regime resulted in the deaths of approximately 6 million Jews during the Holocaust. "It is one of the darkest chapters in human history."

"These occasions help us remember the victims, preserve historical memory, and most importantly, reinforce our resolve to fight against hatred and discrimination."

Lai, a former Tainan Mayor, said the southern city is home to Taiwan's first Holocaust Memorial Museum. "Its founding mission urges us to forget hatred and love one another; put an end to war and advocate peace."

Speaking during the same event, Andreas Hofem, deputy director of the German Institute Taipei, said as a German national, his generation is not as guilty as those generations of Germans that lived through the dark times of the Holocaust.

"Yet, as Germans, I think we must accept this shame and this responsibility."

In Germany, the "culture of remembrance" has become a cornerstone of our democracy today. It teaches us that freedom is fragile, and that the seeds of hatred and indifference must never be allowed to take root again.

Meanwhile, Israel's representative to Taiwan Maya Yaron said the Holocaust was "not only an attack on the Jewish people-it was an assault on humanity itself, a grim warning that is relevant also today, also here in Asia, of what happens when hatred is allowed to fester unchecked."

The Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, the de facto Israeli embassy in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties, has dedicated much time and effort to promoting Holocaust history and education.

"Unfortunately, many are not yet familiar with the important lessons of the Holocaust and the current days' rise in discrimination against Jewish people," she said, adding it is widely regarded as a "European tragedy."

"The lessons of the Holocaust are universal and relevant also to Taiwanese people: they teach us the dangers of silence, the consequences of hatred, and the necessity of vigilance."

The Israeli and German office in Taiwan have since 2016 jointly observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day, designated by the United Nations in 2005, to remember the victims of the genocide committed by Nazi Germany from 1941-1945.

The U.N. chose Jan. 27 as the remembrance date, as that was when Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland was liberated by the Soviet army in 1945.

Wednesday's memorial came a week after an incident when a political activist was photographed dressed in Nazi attire and making a Nazi salute while being summoned for questioning by the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office.

Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of a Kuomintang (KMT)-backed campaign to recall a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker, was wearing a Nazi armband and carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf when he repeatedly gave a Nazi salute in front of reporters outside the prosecutors' office on April 15.

The man, who was questioned over signature fraud relating to the recall vote campaign against DPP lawmaker Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城), did not say why he was dressed up as a German National Socialist.

Sung's controversial behavior attracted widespread criticism from Taiwan's government and from both the Israeli and German offices.

The opposition KMT also condemned Sung's behavior while insisting he is not a member of the party.