Report reveals Taiwan's normalization gaps: transitional justice, history, and civil defense need work

The Koo Kwang-min Foundation, alongside several civil society organizations, held a press conference in Taipei today to release the "2026 Critical Report on Taiwan's Abnormal State," systematically reviewing Taiwan's uncompleted "normalization" process. In recent domestic discussions, "normalization" refers to Taiwan's ability to break away from the abnormal conditions caused by past political confrontations, historical ruptures, and institutional deficiencies across three major dimensions: the international stage, domestic governance, and social memory, thereby reaching the same operating standards as other sovereign states. The report pointed out that although Taiwan has made significant progress in democratization and the rule of law, several key issues have yet to be properly implemented, particularly the deepening of transitional justice, the integration of history education, and the role of local governments within the civil defense system.

Regarding transitional justice, the report urged the government to move beyond the past phase of "settling accounts" and further promote victim compensation, truth disclosure, and institutional reforms. Since the establishment of the Transitional Justice Commission in 2018, investigations and rehabilitations have been launched regarding historical traumas such as the February 28 Incident and the White Terror; however, issues such as insufficient archival declassification and incomplete compensation mechanisms for victims' families remain. Civil groups noted that to materialize the concept of a "normal country," the scope of beneficiaries of justice must be expanded to all oppressed ethnic groups and communities, and truth education must be embedded into educational and cultural policies to prevent a recurrence of historical memory gaps.

The issue of history education was also listed as a core item in the report. Over the past decade, curriculum reforms in primary and secondary schools in Taiwan have repeatedly experienced political tugs-of-war, leading to drastic adjustments in textbook content under different ruling parties. The report indicated that the lack of unified and objective historical teaching materials not only weakens the younger generation's understanding of the context of national development, but also leaves society without a consensus on past mistakes. To this end, civil groups recommended the establishment of a cross-partisan history education committee responsible for reviewing teaching materials, promoting professional development for teachers, and presenting diverse historical narratives—including those of indigenous peoples, Hakka, and new immigrants—from multiple perspectives, thereby making history education the cornerstone of consolidating democracy and social cohesion.

The role of local governments in civil defense was also re-examined. Faced with the dual challenges of cross-strait tensions and frequent natural disasters, the report emphasized that local administrative agencies must be equipped with more comprehensive air defense, evacuation, and emergency rescue mechanisms. In the past, uneven resource distribution between the central and local governments resulted in gaps in disaster response across certain counties and cities. The report called for the establishment of a locality-centric civil defense network that combines community volunteers and private disaster prevention organizations to enhance the efficiency of rapid response and resource dispatch, while strengthening public disaster prevention education to deeply root defensive awareness into daily life.

When discussing the path for the "next step," participants unanimously agreed that for Taiwan to move from being "abnormal" to "normal," it must simultaneously balance the dual efforts of domestic institutional improvement and international participation. On the international front, Taiwan still faces the dilemmas of restricted diplomatic space and obstacles to participating in international organizations; on the domestic front, reforms must continue to be deepened in areas such as judicial independence, media freedom, and civic participation. The report proposed that within the next five years, the private sector and the government should jointly formulate a "normalization blueprint," clearly listing phased goals and measurable indicators, and ensuring through a transparent monitoring mechanism that every reform is implemented.

This press conference was not only a policy review, but also an opportunity to call on the entire society to jointly participate in and shape the future. From transitional justice to history education, and from local civil defense to international participation, all issues are intertwined and none can be omitted. Only through continuous dialogue among diverse voices and the advancement of concrete actions can Taiwan truly shed the "abnormal" label and become a "normal country" with complete sovereignty and institutional legitimacy on the international stage.