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).
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
Taiwan’s coffee community has launched a “one-person-one-e-mail” campaign, calling for people to send a protest-e-mail to the World Coffee Championships (WCC) urging it to redesignate Taiwanese competitors as from “Taiwan,” rather than “Chinese Taipei.” The call followed sudden action last week after the WCC changed all references to Taiwanese competitors from “Taiwan” to “Chinese Taipei,” including recent World Latte Art champion Bala (林紹興), who won the World Latte Art Championship in San Diego earlier this month. When Bala received the trophy, he was referred to as representing Taiwan, as well as in the announcement on the WCC’s Web site, until it
RSS