The Transitional Justice Commission (TJC; ) was an independent government agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan) active from 31 May 2018 to 30 May 2022 based on the Act on Promoting Transitional Justice. The commission is responsible for the investigation of actions taken by the Kuomintang between 15 August 1945 and 6 November 1992. The commission's main aims include: making political archives more readily available, removing authoritarian symbols, redressing judicial injustice, and producing a report on the history of the period which delineates steps to further promote transitional justice.
History
The Act on Promoting Transitional Justice () was passed by the Legislative Yuan on 5 December 2017. The act sought to rectify injustices committed by the authoritarian Kuomintang government of the Republic of China on Taiwan, and to this end established the Transitional Justice Commission to investigate actions taken from 15 August 1945, the date of the Hirohito surrender broadcast, to 6 November 1992, when president Lee Teng-hui lifted the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion for Fujian Province, Republic of China, ending the period of mobilization. This time period, in particular, includes the February 28 Incident as well as White Terror.
The commission was established formally on May 31, 2018 for a period of two years. Huang Huang-hsiung was chosen to chair the committee and five other members were nominated by 31 March 2018: Chang Tien-chin, Hua Yih-fen, Hsu Hsueh-chi, Eleng Tjaljimaraw, and Greg Yo. Peng Jen-yu, Yang Tsui, and Yeh Hung-ling were selected on 7 April. All nine candidates were confirmed in May 2018, though both the Kuomintang and People First Party legislative caucuses abstained from voting. The committee began operations on 31 May 2018. Following a scandal, vice chairman Chang Tien-chin resigned from the commission on 12 September 2018, Huang Huang-hsiung resigned the chairmanship on 6 October 2018, and was subsequently appointed acting chairperson.
In April 2020, the Legislative Yuan extended the committee's tenure by one year, and the committee members were formally reappointed on May 26, 2020, although the Pan-Blue Coalition again boycotted the vote. Yang Tsui was formally elected chairperson, serving alongside committee members Awi Mona, Chen Yu-fan, Hsu Wei-chun, Lin Chia-fan, Peng Jen-yu, Frank Wang, and Yeh Hung-lin. Following this extension, the Commission is scheduled to deliver its final report in May 2021.
Interaction with other transitional justice organizations
The commission has worked together with other organizations dedicated to transitional justice, such as the May 18 Memorial Foundation from South Korea and the Stasi Records Agency of Germany. An exhibit on the Gwangju Uprising opened in Taipei on 6 December 2019 and a letter of intent to hold regular workshops and exchanges with the Stasi Records Agency was signed on 13 December 2019.
Blockage in Hong Kong
Results
Exonerating political convictions
As a result of the commission's recommendations, a total of 5,837 people convicted of political crimes during White Terror have been exonerated due to recommendations made by the commission. The first recommendation, also the first in Taiwanese history, came on 5 October 2018, when 1,270 people were exonerated, including writer Yang Kui and 27 Taiwanese aborigines. On 27 February 1,056 people were exonerated. On 30 May 2019, 3,062 people were exonerated, including former vice president Annette Lu, former mayor of Kaohsiung Chen Chu, editor of Free China Journal Lei Chen, and Shih Ming-teh. On November 8, 2020, the commission further overturned 12 sentences, bringing the total to 5,874. On October 2, 2021 the Commission overturned the sentences of five inmates who were executed in the 1970 Taiyuan Incident.