MND urged to reinvestigate 1987 massacre of Vietnamese refugees

Taipei, Aug. 9 (CNA) Control Yuan member Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠) and a group of people believed to be relatives of about 20 Vietnamese refugees killed by the Taiwanese military in outlying Kinmen County in 1987 called for a reinvestigation into the massacre.

At a press conference in Taipei on Friday, Tran Quoc Dung, whose brother was purportedly one of the victims in what has been known as the March 7 Incident, or Donggang Incident, said he "did not come here to condemn Taiwan's government."

However, Tran expressed hope that the government would "take concrete action to console the family members" of those killed 37 years ago by reexamining what he called "a historic mistake" and returning the victims' belongings to their families.

Kao, who published an investigation report on the incident two years ago based on interviews with nearly 20 soldiers involved and government archives, also called on the Ministry of National Defense (MND) to "restart an internal investigation" and reveal "the whole truth about the incident."

The Control Yuan member said while he had managed to solve most of the mysteries surrounding the massacre, he struggled to obtain what he believed would serve as "important information" from the MND during his investigation.

Kao made a similar appeal when the Control Yuan issued the report, but there has been little progress in the past two years.

In response to calls for a reinvestigation, the MND said in a statement later on Friday that it "fully cooperated" with the Control Yuan's probe and additional inquiries into those involved "may not yield any breakthroughs in the case."

The MND said the killings on Kinmen's Lieyu Island were "regrettable" but maintained that the soldiers were carrying out their duties.

Tran, his wife and two others, both surnamed Vu, arrived in Taiwan earlier this week with the help of Kao and Amnesty International's Taiwan office.

Kao said the four people would travel to Lieyu Island, the site of the March 7, 1987 massacre, later the same day to pay tribute to their deceased relatives during the upcoming Zhongyuan Festival ceremony at the island's only shrine.

He told CNA that, after hearing Tran's account, he was "fairly certain" Tran's brother, Tran Quoc Hung, was among those killed in the massacre.

According to the Control Yuan's report, approximately 20 Vietnamese refugees, including one heavily pregnant woman and several children, were shot dead by Taiwanese soldiers from the Army's 158th division, which was responsible for the defense of Kinmen at that time.

Those refugees, all of whom were of ethnic Chinese descent, were either immediately killed after coming ashore on Lieyu Island or later on a vessel stranded off the island, the watchdog's report said.

They were believed to be part of an exodus of largely ethnic Chinese Vietnamese nationals who had fled by boat in the aftermath of the 1979 Sino-Vietnam War, according to the report.

At that time, there was also a prolonged military standoff between China and Taiwan, even though economic and people-to-people ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait began warming in the 1980s.

The MND did not investigate the incident until the killings were disclosed by soldiers who returned to Taiwan from Kinmen and later attracted attention from international human rights groups, the report noted.

Four people -- a colonel, a major, a captain and a first lieutenant -- were sentenced to 20-22 months in prison in December 1988 after being found guilty of killing the refugees, the report said.

However, all four of them had their sentences suspended, with the court saying they took action "out of duty and responsibility" and that their conduct was in line with military rules, according to the report.

Tran, a former refugee who later settled in Norway, told the press conference that he learned what might have happened to his brother after reading media reports on Control Yuan's findings in July 2022.

According to Tran, the report matched the rumors that had been circulating among Vietnamese refugees who were fleeing for their lives on fishing vessels in the region at that time.

While the revelation was "heartbreaking," Tran said it also prompted him to reach out to Kao to know more and later plan a visit to Taiwan.

Tran, now in his 60s, told CNA that he was "very eager" to visit Lieyu Island and pay tribute to the dead, most of whom he had known for a long time before they set out on different paths in search of a better life.

"After 30 years, I wish to speak with those people," he said.