Taiwan's government formally cleared five church families who were framed and tortured under authoritarian rule 65 years ago, a step in the island's ongoing transitional-justice effort.

• Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim handed honor-restoration certificates to five families at a Presbyterian church in Zhuoluo, Hualien, and bowed in apology on behalf of the state.
• The families were victims of the 1961 "grenade incident," when a local police officer planted a hidden grenade and fake seditious leaflets to falsely accuse church leaders of plotting rebellion.
• Five church figures were taken to a police station and tortured — pricked with needles, force-fed salt water, their Bibles trampled — but refused to confess and were released after eight days once found innocent.
• The state now officially recognizes the wrongdoing, backed by a new memorial plaque and a mural at the church telling the story in Chinese and the Bunun language.
• One family recalled their grandfather praying through his imprisonment, forgiving his persecutors rather than seeking revenge, and living past 100.

Outlook: Officials pledged the work of healing these authoritarian-era wounds will continue, with more families expected to seek recognition.