Elementary school teacher wants next generation to remember 228 Massacre

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

3078 Edition

February 21-27, 2011

Headline News



Elementary school teacher wants next generation to remember 228 Massacre



Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan

Written by Lydia Ma



If we celebrate and talk about the meaning of Lantern Festival and Hakka 
festivals, why can’t we do the same for 228 Peace Memorial Day?” asked 
Mountain-Foot Elementary School teacher, Kuo Yan-lin. He is also a member of 
Mountain-Foot Presbyterian Church in Miaoli County, which belongs to Hsinchu 
Presbytery.

With 228 Peace Memorial Day approaching next Monday, Kuo believes that holiday 
should be remembered and taught to children with the same emphasis as other 
holidays such as Tomb Sweeping Day or Lantern Festival. He supports an 
objective and healthy approach to understanding this historical event and 
believes that it’s imperative that children learn the truth about what happened 
on February 28, 1947, so they can learn from it and prevent history from 
repeating itself. 

“228 Peace Memorial day is just around the corner. Should we shut our eyes and 
cover our ears and pretend we don’t see or hear?” he wondered, adding that 
Taiwanese have much to learn from Germans who came to terms with the atrocities 
of Nazi Germany learned their lessons, and moved on. 

In contrast, anyone in Taiwan who publicly brings up the 228 Massacre risks 
being labeled a manipulator, or one who likes to add salt to wounds. This is 
especially true in Miaoli, where most folks are very conservative.

“We must talk about 228; otherwise, it’s very likely it’ll happen again!” he 
said resolutely, in spite of facing pressure from school administrators, cold 
treatment from his colleagues, and possibly complaints from his students’ 
parents in the next few days.

Asked whether he’s worried or afraid of repercussions he might face for his 
insistence, Kuo replied, “God is with me. God is just, faithful, and I can rely 
on God!” But he added that he’d appreciate prayers from fellow Christians for 
his well-being and for the day when the 228 Massacre can be taught and 
remembered with the same emphasis as other national holidays.



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