Vice President Hsiao Meiqin attended the "Hualien County Zhuole Tribe Grenade Incident Commemorative Unveiling Ceremony" this morning (15th) and said that in the past few years, the government has not stopped promoting transformational justice. It has continued to repair historical scars and accompanied the families of the victims to the step of restoring their reputation. It hopes to allow transformational justice to truly enter the tribe and respect the special history and trauma of the indigenous peoples.

The Vice President first arrived at Zoro Christian Presbyterian Church for a thanksgiving service and unveiling ceremony of the commemorative plaque. Later, in his speech, he said that he was very happy to be invited to Zhuo Le Church to witness this important moment with the families of the victims and future generations. When I came to Hualien today, I felt like an old friend returning to a place that has always been close to his heart.

The Vice President pointed out that the Zhuole tribe is located on the side of a beautiful mountain. This land and church not only carry the faith and life of the Bunun people for generations, but also bear witness to a heavy history that has not been fully told for a long time. It is particularly meaningful today to see the families of the victims and their descendants witness this moment together with tolerance, forgiveness and understanding. Promoting transitional justice needs to start with understanding history, understanding historical facts, and witnessing them together. Only then can society heal the scars left by history and gradually realize the forgiveness, understanding, and mutual trust that family members sincerely hope for.

The Vice President said that looking back on the grenade incident, 65 years ago, five Bunun people from the Zhuole tribe, who were also co-workers of the Zhuole Church, were framed by the local police, who placed grenades in their homes and were taken to the Yuli branch on charges of preparing for rebellion. During this period, they were tortured and even asked by the police to trample and tear up the Bible that they believed in, but they never gave in or compromised because they firmly believed that God is faithful and righteous, and used their lives to practice the teachings of Micah 6:8: "As long as you do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."

The vice president went on to say that these suffering elders relied on their faith to get through the difficulties, and the final investigation results confirmed that they had indeed been framed. After being forcibly detained for 8 days, he was finally released, cleared his name, and returned to his family. This memory doesn't really end when they go home. After five elders passed away one after another, many families and younger generations chose to keep this deep wound deep in their hearts because they still had fear and distrust of the government. This process lasted for more than half a century.

The Vice President mentioned that in April this year, the descendants of five families had applied to the Rights Restoration Foundation and obtained honorary restoration certificates. Today I was invited to hand over the certificate to the family in person. This is a very solemn responsibility. It represents the country's recognition of the illegal violations caused during the authoritarian rule in the past. It must also formally and solemnly apologize for this, and at the same time assume the responsibility for repairs. It symbolizes that transformational justice has truly entered the tribe and respects the special history and trauma of the indigenous people.

The Vice President said that in the past few years, the government has not stopped promoting transitional justice. Although the transfer promotion committee has completed its phased tasks, the country's repair and companionship of historical scars will not be interrupted. This work is now being coordinated by Executive Yuan Councilor Lin Mingxin, who leads various ministries and committees to continue to promote it. Faced with the special trauma of indigenous peoples, the government has also invested more effort in taking inventory of the damage from a perspective close to the ethnic culture through indigenous associations; in terms of psychological and social care, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will continue to accompany more than 60 families in Taiwan starting in 2023. Because of these efforts, today we can accompany the five families of the Zhuole tribe to the step of restoring their reputation and unveiling their plaques. This is the result of the joint efforts of the government and many private parties over the past few years.

The Vice President said that in addition to the government's responsibilities, he also saw the powerful power of tribes. During the past period, in tribal gatherings, everyone recounted fragments of memories bit by bit and pieced together a more complete story, working together to find ways to preserve these memories and give them proper respect. From co-planning the "Listen to Our Story" exhibition in December 2024, all the way to today, all of this is the hard work of the family members here to let future generations and let more Taiwanese people know this period of history, which is admirable.

The Vice President pointed out that the exterior wall paintings and commemorative nameplates that will be unveiled today are the history written by the Zhuole tribe themselves, and they also declare to future generations that these things have happened before, and the lives and beliefs of these five elders are always worthy of respect and commemoration. He was full of gratitude to be able to come back here again to witness this moment with everyone. May God continue to care for and bless the Zhuole tribe, and may God bless every family, every partner, and every good friend here, and continue to receive God’s blessings and peace.

Later, the Vice President and the distinguished guests unveiled the painted story wall of the grenade incident, and personally issued honorary certificates of recovery to the families of the victims.

Including Lin Jingyi, deputy minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Sun Bin, CEO of the Foundation for the Restoration of the Rights of Victims of State Lawless Acts during the period of authoritarian rule, and Xu Juncai, chairman of the Taiwan Aboriginal Social Work Association, also attended the event.