Taiwan's Chen slams former leader over 1947 killings

TAIPEI, Feb 26 (Reuters) Taiwan's president branded the island's former dictator a ''true killer'' today, shining a spotlight on decades-old tensions between native Taiwanese and mainland-born Chinese who came in a mass influx in the 1940s.

President Chen Shui-bian made his vitriolic criticism of Chiang Kai-shek two days before the 60th anniversary of the Febuary. 28 incident, a crackdown by Chinese troops on the island in 1947 that killed thousands of Taiwanese. As president of China at the time, Chiang commanded the Kuomintang (Nationalist Party) army.

''Febuary. 28 is not just a historical incident,'' said Chen, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), whose main constituency is Taiwanese who trace their ancestry back on the island for generations before the mainlanders arrived.

''It's more like a slaughter, a criminal incident, a legal incident,'' he said at a televised speech at a symposium in Taipei.

''Perpetrators who violated human rights with their crimes should be legally prosecuted and receive sanctions by law.'' Paraphrasing a 2006 report by a DPP-backed advocacy group, the Febuary. 28 Incident Memorial Foundation, Chen said: ''it shows clearly that former Nationalist Party chief Chiang Kai-shek was the true Febuary. 28 incident killer...'' Chen's criticism of Chiang comes ahead of parliamentary elections at the end of the year and a presidential vote in 2008.

Two years after the Febuary. 28 incident, Chiang lost power to Mao Zedong's Communists on the mainland and fled to Taiwan along with thousands of his Kuomintang (KMT) supporters.

He ruled the island with an iron hand until his death in 1975.

The KMT kept power until Chen won the presidency in 2000.

REMEMBERING ''228'' The Febuary. 28 incident, widely known in Taiwan just as ''228'', began with a street fight amid discontent with the government's tobacco monopoly and flared into an island-wide conflict with Taiwanese demanding more rights.

Up to 20,000 people died in the crackdown that followed, and public discussion of the incident was banned until the 1990s amid broader political repression.

A hall featuring memorabilia from the incident opens this week in central Taipei amid conferences, exhibitions and speeches that started today. The date itself is now a public holiday.

The DPP-led government also plans to convert the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, a Taipei landmark, into the Taiwan Democracy Memorial Park District, local media reported. Other planned events include the issue of a new stamp, and a five-day sympathy walk in the United States.

The DPP government has already renamed Chiang Kai-shek International Airport as the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, as part of its efforts to de-Sinify Taiwan.

''Some people still believe the KMT is responsible for what was done before and want it to take political responsibility,'' said Philip Yang, a National Taiwan University political science professor. ''It's very sensitive, and for some people, it's still taboo to talk about this.'' The Nationalists, seeking to improve their standing among local Taiwanese, will hold a concert tomorrow and invite incident survivors.

Former party chairman Ma Ying-jeou, considered a strong 2008 presidential race contender despite a recent corruption indictment, called the incident a crackdown rather than a premeditated attack on native Taiwanese.

Ma, himself born in Hong Kong to parents from the mainland, added in his remarks that the KMT should take responsibility.

REUTERS PB PM1520