This year marks the 60th anniversary of the 228 Massacre and the 20th anniversary of the Justice and Peace Movement of the 228 Massacre campaign. In the past 20 years, the campaign, aims at redressing miscarriage of justice, has subsequently led to the establishment of the 228 Memorial Foundation, Taiwan 228 Society, and memorial monuments for the victims of the 228 Massacre. It has also led to fact-finding investigations that aim to undercover the truth and to hold the culprits responsible. In order to unearth the historical truth of the 228 Massacre and allow the public to face the 228 Massacre ration also with sincerity, the 228 Memorial Foundation has since 2003 invited academics to take part in an in-depth research of the 228 Massacre. After three years' painstaking research, a research report titled Research Report on Responsibility For The 228 Massacre was completed and introduced in 2006. The report delineates in details the causes of the Massacre. Supported by historical findings and records, the report also makes clear the due responsibility of the culprits. Since 2006, the foundation has been actively promoting international exchanges and conducting two-way exchanges with international human rights groups. In a bid to allow foreigners to gain an understanding of the history and truth of the 228 Massacre, the foundation has excerpted the research report and published it in English and Japanese.
After nearly 20 years of democratization following the lifting of the martial law, Taiwan has become one of the democracies in the world. However, despite the concept of democracy that has slowly taken roots in the hearts of many, countless unjust cases resulted from the party-state rule of the then authoritarian regime remain undealt with. To this day, truths of many historical events remain unknown, that the residue of which might potentially become an underlying cause for potential conflict and misgiving. Only by examining the historical truth honestly, and clarifying due responsibility can Taiwan walk out of historical smokescreen and implement concrete transitional justice. On the occasion marking the 60th anniversary of the 228 Massacre, we need to remember the historical lesson the Massacre has taught us. In order to safeguard the achievement of democracy, we must hold steadfast to the ideas of freedom, democracy, and human rights. Via the publication of this booklet, the foundation hopes more people---domestically and internationally alike--- will gain a better insight to the 228 Massacre, become aware of Taiwan-centric consciousness, and understand the goal of transitional justice we wish to obtain at this current stage.