Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) bears the greatest responsibility for the 228 Incident, Academia Historica president Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深) said yesterday, adding that Chiang, who then led the National Government, sided with then-governor Chen Yi (陳儀) and allowed the perpetrators to go unpunished.
Chen Yi-shen made the remarks during his keynote speech at a forum on the 228 Incident, an anti-government uprising that erupted on Feb. 28, 1947, after a Taiwanese widow was assaulted by Monopoly Bureau agents for allegedly selling contraband cigarettes a day earlier.
Tens of thousands of people were killed or imprisoned by the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in the crackdown that followed.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
In the aftermath, the provincial 228 Incident Handling Committee revealed in a March 7 report that the root cause of the incident was not the unlawful conduct of Monopoly Bureau agents, but rather the result of corrupt governance, Chen Yi-shen told the forum, which was organized by the Taiwan Association of University Professors.
Documents also show there were differing opinions within the KMT at the time, with Chen Yi exaggerating the severity of the situation when requesting troops from Chiang Kai-shek, portraying the protests as a communist rebellion instigated by agitators, Chen Yi-shen said.
However, some within the government, including then-Taiwan Provincial Assembly speaker Huang Chao-chin (黃朝琴), warned Chiang that the characterization of a rebellion was false and that the incident had been triggered by public anger over a corrupt political system, Chen Yi-shen said.
Chiang Kai-shek largely ignored dissenting voices and was highly selective in the information he chose to accept, preferring to listen to Chen Yi, he said.
Furthermore, when those responsible were later called to account, Chen Yi and others, including then-Kaohsiung Fortress Headquarters chief Peng Meng-chi (彭孟緝), escaped punishment, he added.
The combination of official complicity, the rapid deployment of troops and the subsequent lack of accountability were major reasons why the 228 Incident became a deep scar in Taiwanese society, Chen Yi-shen said.
Yesterday’s forum was held at the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum and hosted by Taiwan Association of University Professors president Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元).
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS