TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) listed three goals to enhance Taiwan’s transitional justice efforts in a speech at the 228 Massacre commemoration event in Taipei on Friday.

The first objective is to accelerate the declassification of political archives and uncover the truths of the violence and suffering during martial law, Lai said, per the Presidential Office. He pointed out that he directed the National Security Bureau to re-examine approximately one million classified files from the authoritarian era to identify those affected by government suppression. The review is expected to be completed by May and submitted to the National Archives Administration in June for declassification and public access.

The second objective is to implement more transitional justice measures, Lai said. The Ministry of Culture has launched a review process to preserve historical sites related to human rights violations under authoritarian rule, he said.

“I hope that generations of Taiwanese can visit these historical sites, reflect on the past, and recognize the dangers of authoritarian rule, deepening Taiwan’s democratic development,” Lai said.

The third objective is to prevent atrocities from ever happening again, the president said. “The annual 228 commemoration ceremony is not only about remembering the victims and comforting their families but also about learning from history to ensure it never repeats itself,” he said. Only in a democracy where the people are in charge can we prevent the government from harming its people again, he added.

Lai said it was his duty to “unite Taiwan” to ensure that our national sovereignty remains intact and that Taiwanese continue living in peace and prosperity.

The 228 Massacre refers to the bloody crackdown launched by the then-ruling KMT to suppress protests against the government. Taiwanese were enraged after officers from the Monopoly Bureau confronted and assaulted cigarette vendor Lin Chiang-mai (林江邁) in Taipei for selling smuggled cigarettes on Feb. 27, 1947. An innocent bystander was killed as the Taiwanese surrounded the officers that day.

Two years after the massacre, the KMT declared martial law, marking the beginning of Taiwan’s “White Terror” period.