Taiwan Association for Truth and Reconciliation
台灣民間真相與和解促進會
TATR's work can be divided into: 1) Preserving historical memory, 2) Calling for lifting the ban to political historical archives, 3) Promoting policy related to transitional justice, 4) Advocating for transitional justice and carrying out social education. As part of these efforts, the organization has trained 94 young investigative journalists, and interviewed 241 people, to establish digital archives of nearly 1,000 cases.
Where policy is concerned, TATR's work includes advocating for the Ministry of Culture to establish National Human Rights Museum, integrating two White Terror Memorial Parks in Jingmei and Green Island. At the same time, TATR calls for the release of files of political prisoners and for their personal documents to be returned to family members while simplifying the application process and waiving fees. The organization thus assists family members in this process. TATR participated in the legislation of the Political Archives Act, and TATR continues to call for changes to the act to allow for the release of political archives.
Publications of TATR include "Political Archives Can Speak: A Citizen's Guidebook in the Free Age," "An Undelivered Testament," and "The Struggle Between Remembrance and Forgetting: A Report on Transitional Justice”--so as to allow civil society to understand the White Terror, and have an accurate understanding of transitional justice.
"Political Archives Can Speak" serves as an introductory work, while "An Undelivered Testament" uses a literary means to take readers back to the time of the White Terror. "The Struggle Between Remembrance and Forgetting" analyzes the White Terror period as a whole. "Political Archives Can Speak" won the Golden Tripod Award from the Ministry of Culture, as well as the National Museum of Taiwan History's Promotional Document Award. "An Undelivered Testament" was republished in 2022, showing how members of the public received its literature on the White Terror.
Where social education is concerned, TATR held mock trials in 2016, to probe the injustice that took place during the White Terror, including regarding the illegal actions of the government. This used political cases in which compensation was not awarded as the basis for discussion.
In 2017, a project for remembrances of the martial law period was carried out, so as to provide an image of daily life during martial law. In 2019, workshops were held to train guides about the graves of political prisoners in Liuzhangli, for high school educators teaching about Taiwanese history and human rights, along with annual forums on transitional justice, so as to promote knowledge of the White Terror and Transitional Justice. In 2020, we sought to bring forums on transitional justice outside of Taipei, holding them in Keelung, New Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung, and Tainan, so that transitional justice could be discussed across Taiwan.
In 2021,workshops were held in Xindian and Beitou, and in 2022, an adaptation plan will be completed for the two scripts "Searching for Light in the Darkness: One Individual's Travel Bag" and "Disappointment." In 2023, TATR held its eighth transitional justice collective reading group, through the guided discussion and academic discussion, this deepened an understanding of transitional justice.
In the future, TATR will continue its advocacy work, allowing for transitional justice for those who were denied justice during the authoritarian period and allowing for there to be truth, and an investigation into those who were responsible, paving the way for the possibility of reconciliation. This is with the aim of welcoming the future as fellow members of a democratic society.
Advocate for the release of historical files and the return of personal documents to family members, simplifying the process for family members or survivors to apply for this, and waiving attendant fees. Helping family members apply for the return of last testaments
Promote the amendment of the National Security Act and the Martial Law Reparations Right, to restore the rights of White Terror Victims and their families
Push for the establishment of a National Human Rights Museum integrating the White Terror Memorial parks in Jingmei and Green Island
Advocate for the legislation of the Political Archives Act, facilitating the exposure of historical truth. Continuing to provide for oversight and amendment to the law
Promote the legislation of the Transitional Justice Act and the formation of the Transitional Justice Commission by the Executive Yuan