TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The permanent classification of secret government documents came to an end on Wednesday (Feb. 28), the 77th anniversary of the 228 Massacre.

The relevant amendments to the Classified National Security Information Protection Act were approved last December but only went into effect on Wednesday. Government departments can still ask for extensions of the confidentiality period.

The change covers mostly documents involving national security and foreign relations. However, observers also expressed the hope that the declassification could shed some new light on past human rights violations, including during the aftermath of the 228 Massacre known as the White Terror period, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) reported.

The extension of confidential status beyond 40 years is most likely to cover documents revealing the identity of intelligence agents working in China, the National Development Council (NDC) said. Each extension will be valid for a maximum of three years, with a review by the National Security Bureau (NSB) intelligence agency to be approved by the National Security Council (NSC).

The new rules also include measures to protect the privacy of individuals mentioned in the files. The government should actively notify them of the presence of their names in the documents.