TAIPEI: Over 4,000 families who may have legitimate claims for compensation in relation to the February 28 Incident in 1947, still have not filed claims, according to the 228 Incident Memorial Foundation yesterday.

Foundation Chairman Tsay Ching-yen called for those families to move fast to apply for the cash compensation being offered, since the application period will expire at the end of 2010.

"The foundation itself will be dissolved by March 2012," Tsay noted.

Tsay made the call at a hearing at the Legislative Yuan, during which ruling Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Liu Sheng-liang and opposition Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Wei-cheh urged the foundation to step up efforts to contact the affected families to allow them to file compensation claims as soon as possible.

The February 28 Incident refers to a series of events in 1947 that led to a brutal crackdown by the then KMT government against the local population, particularly the intelligentsia.

In 1990, the Executive Yuan set up a task force of scholars and other experts to study the 228 Incident. The "Report of the 228 Incident" was published in 1992, and a memorial was set up in 1995 in the 228 Peace Park in Taipei City.

In October 1995, the non-profit 228 Incident Memorial Foundation was established to deal with matters relating to compensation and rehabilitation of 228 Incident victims.

Since its inception, the foundation has acknowledged a total of 7,067 compensation cases involving deaths, missing people, incarceration and defamation, Tsay said.

The foundation has so far disbursed more than NT$18.7 billion ($577 million) in compensation to the families of the victims in over 3,000 cases, he added.

Tsay said he believes that some 4,000 families did not file claims because in most cases the notices were sent to wrong or inaccessible addresses, or the victims and their families could not be located.

Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Chiang Yi-hsiung said that some Taiwanese residents were indicted on charges of rebellion, but in the end were convicted for engaging in illegal arms deals, which would have disqualified them from applying for compensation.

"I therefore propose an amendment to the law to allow an expansion of the compensation criteria to allow more victims to receive compensation," Chiang said at the hearing.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 12/22/2009 page2)