Taiwan Church News
3859 ~ 3860 Edition
9 ~ 22 Feb, 2026
Weekly Topical
Gi-Kong Church Announced as the First Civil Site Significant of Transitional Justice
Reported by Lin Yi-ying from Taipei
Even though 42 sites of injustice in Taiwan had been approved before the dismissal of Transitional Justice Commission (TJC) in 2022, the Bill on the Preservation of Sites of Injustice was still boycotted by KMT(Kuomingtang) and TPP (Taiwan People’s Party) in Taiwan Congress for the past two years. To carry on the mission of transitional justice in Taiwan, National Human Rights Museum (NHRM) find the way out through its Operating Guidelines for Establishing Significant Sites of Traditional Justice to bypass the political stand-off.
Gi-Kong Church of Chi-Hsin Presbytery was originally the heart-breaking site where renown human-rights lawyer Lin Yi-hsiung’s dear mother and lovely twin daughters were horrendously murdered. It was approved to be the first civil site significant of transitional justice by the Ministry of Culture with an opening ceremony to be held on April 5, 2026.
On February 1, Senior Citizen Fellowship of Gi-Kong Church invited Dr Huang Shu-mei, professor of Graduate Institute of Building and Planning of National Taiwan University, to deliver a lecture, entitled as “‘From the Bill on the Preservation of Sites of Injustice to the Operating Guidelines for Establishing Significant Sites of Traditional Justice,” explaining the theory, legal concepts and practical proceedings about sites of injustice.
For the next generation to remember and learn from histories, professor Huang took as the example the story of Mr Li Yuan, minister of Culture, who wrote a recent Facebook piece describing his journey to Liou-Chang-Lie cemetery to collect the remains of his deceased uncle – Mr Huang Mei, who was tragically killed in the notorious 228 massacre event. Professor Huang used Minister Li’s emotional pursuit of his family’s past as a precious key to explain the significance and importance of preserving the sites of injustice for Taiwan’s future.
Taiwan’s pursuit of transitional justice began from 1987 with the civil movement of restoring justice for the 228 massacre victims. After the incessant pleads and protests from the movement for 228 massacre, former president Lee Teng-hui finally paid his public apology, raised memorial monuments, compensated the victims and cleared the charges to those suffered or inflicted within the 228 event or its afterwards.
From 2000 to 2016, with the cooperation of the public sector and civil groups, the movement of transitional justice in Taiwan was gradually achieved via legislature, including the Act Governing the Settlement of Ill-gotten Properties by Political Parties and Their Affiliated Organizations, the Organizational Act of the National Human Rights Museum, Act on Promoting Transitional Justice, Political Archives Act and many other legal Acts. In addition, the Transitional Justice Commission was specially established to facilitate and restore such social justice long desired.
“As sites of injustice are important assets for collective memory and historical education,” said professor Huang, “TJC established 42 sites of injustice in Taiwan, and NHRM also designated a series of “historical sites within white terror era”, including military courts, prisons, execution sites, offices of government agencies and etc., but there is not any civil site of injustice recommended by TJC or NHRM.”
In early 2025, Gi-Kong Church applied to be listed as a municipal historic site of Taipei City Government. But, such humble request was bluntly rejected by Taipei City Government on the grounds that it would affect any future reconstruction project of its neighboring households.
On 27 February 2025, Ms Fan Yun, a legislator of Taiwan Congress, held a press conference appealing to the public for the cause of Gi-Kong Church to become Taipei’s historic site. President Lai Ching-de noticed this plea and mentioned Gi-Kong Church at 228 memorial service next day, which prompted Ministry of Culture and NHRM started to check and review Gi-Kong Church’s application.
Although the Bill on the Preservation of Sites of Injustice was categorically boycotted by the opposition parties(KMT and TPP), NHRM has the legal solutions and responsibilities under its own Operating Guidelines for Establishing Significant Sites of Traditional Justice. Gi-Kong Church therefore submitted its application in June 2025 and successfully approved by the Ministry of Culture to became the first civil site of transitional justice in Taiwan.
Rev Wang Ming-ze, pastor of Gi-Kong Church, reveals that a preliminary consultation with NHRM is under way. It is estimated NHRM will officially announce Gi-Kong Church as the significant site of transitional justice after the end of March, and an opening thanksgiving service is expected to be held in the afternoon on April 5, 2026.
Translated by Peter Wolfe
