"Today, family members and descendants of the victims can see with their own eyes the memorial monument, and hear with their own ears as I, as the head of state, admit government wrongdoings and express deep apology," President Lee Teng-hui told some 100 family survivors, carrying yellow roses, who had gathered in Taipei New Park, where a monument commemorating the tragedy was recently built with government sponsorship.

"The monument not only signifies the end of a tragic historic event, the uplifting of ROC nationals' spirits and human dignity, but also represents a milestone signifying that the nation has entered a new era," Lee said.

Lee promised further measures would be taken to heal the historic wound. "However, we are not satisfied by erecting this monument alone," he said. "We must also pursue the opening of the historical truth, compensation for victims, proclamation of a memorial day, healing and dignity in education." The family members of victims burst into tears when Premier Lien Chan, Legislative Yuan President Liu Sung-pan, Presidential Secretary-General Wu Poh-hsiung and Taipei Mayor Chen Shui-bian unveiled the monument.

Lin Chung-yi, spokesman for victims' family members, said Lee's apology was the "long-awaited present" which helped restore the human dignity of those who perished.

The apology from Lee as ROC president had been called for on the eve of the ceremony for the newly finished monument. Many sectors of the society deemed this year a key year for an apology, as it would coincide with the dedication of the monument and compensation legislation pending in the Legislature.

A string of uprisings against government troops began on Feb. 28, 1947, the day after an investigator beat a woman who was selling contraband cigarettes in Taipei. Thousands of native Taiwanese and mainland Chinese immigrants reportedly were killed in clashes between civilians and government troops and ensuing crackdowns.

The incident, which remained a taboo topic for political discussion until recently, ignited decades of hatred and tension between native Taiwanese and mainland China immigrants, whom the natives associated with the ruling class.

Lee said he hoped the monument and the apology would assuage the bad feelings. "From now on, the incident is no longer a distressing memory or a lingering shadow, but a reminder for all people living on this land to work hand in hand to create a brighter future for the nation," Lee said.

"I feel a sense of relief now that this long-standing rift is finally mended," Lee concluded.

Taipei Mayor Chen announced that the city would rename Taipei New Park as "2-28 Peace Park" to commemorate the incident. Feb. 28 will be dedicated as a "peace day," Chen said.

In the Legislative Yuan, lawmakers held a moment of silence to honor the memory of the dead. Premier Lien, who was in the Legislature for a question-and-answer session, said the monument was symbolic of mourning, consolation, peace, tolerance, justice and consolidation.

He also urged the public to put the tragedy aside and move forward with new vitality, while promising that the government would continue to release related information.

The lawmakers also pledged to resolve their differences and pass a statute on compensation for the victims.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party wanted the ceiling of compensation for each victim set at US$380,000, and demanded a recorded vote on the statute, while the Kuomintang lawmakers agreed to only US$228,000 and wanted a secret ballot.

The DPP members demanded that the word "compensation" be included in the title of the statute, and they sought to include provisions for an investigation and punishment of those responsible for the killings and for making Feb. 28 a national holiday.

Legislative Yuan President Liu Sung-pan, during interparty negotiations Feb. 28, proposed a middle option that would put the compensation ceiling at US$304,000 and make Feb. 28 a national memorial day. But the DPP rejected the proposal.

Activities such as marches and mourning services were held throughout Taiwan to commemorate the victims. Even though Winston Chang, president of Soochow University in Taipei, remains hospitalized following a stroke late last year, the university carried out his wish to hold a concert commemorating victims of the Feb. 28 Incident.

Scholars called for the release of government files and data on the Feb. 28 Incident so that the Taiwan can enter the "post-2-28 era" by devoting time and energy to academic research for the truth, instead of grieving over the past.

To heal the historic wound, President Lee in December 1990 established an ad hoc committee to undertake research for an official disclosure of the incident. The committee report, released in early 1992, concluded that the tragedy was a "human error that could have been avoided." The researchers pointed to the complicated circumstances at the time as contributing factors for the outbreak of the riots: The ROC government was still faced with the rebellion of Chinese Communists; and Taiwan had just been returned in 1945 from 50 years of colonial rule by Japan.

As of the end of January, the Interior Ministry, with the help of the victims' families through a registration plan, had identified 1,336 victims as either killed or missing.