The head of Academia Historica said yesterday that Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) bears the greatest responsibility for the 228 Incident, noting that Chiang, who then led the National Government, sided with then-provincial governor Chen Yi (陳儀) and allowed the perpetrators to go unpunished.
Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深) 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 its 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.
Relevant 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 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.
According to Chen Yi-shen, Chiang Kai-shek largely ignored dissenting voices and was highly selective in the information he chose to accept, preferring to listen to Chen Yi.
Furthermore, when those responsible were later called to account, both Chen Yi and others, including 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.
The forum yesterday was held at the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum and hosted by Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), president of the Taiwan Association of University Professors.
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
DO THEY BITE IT? Cats have better memories than people might think, but their motivation is based entirely around the chance of getting fed Cats can remember the identity of the people who fed them the day before, Taipei-based veterinarians said on Friday, debunking a popular myth that cats have a short memory. If a stray does not recognize the person who fed them the previous day, it is likely because they are not carrying food and the cat has no reason to recognize them, said Wu Chou Animal Hospital head Chen Chen-huan (陳震寰). “When cats come to a human bearing food, it is coming for the food, not the person,” he said. “The food is the key.” Since the cat’s attention is on the food, it
Taiwan must act to preempt potential Section 301 investigations as US President Donald Trump moves to a new tariff strategy, following a US Supreme Court ruling that voided tariff measures, an academic said yesterday. Countries running the largest trade surpluses with the US face a growing likelihood of Section 301 investigations, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. Section 301 refers to a provision of the Trade Act of 1974 that allows Washington to impose retaliatory tariffs over perceived unfair trade practices, including the running of large trade surpluses. Because Taiwan has become the fourth-largest source of the US’ trade
People hold incense and pray with offerings in front of Taipei’s Kuanghwa Market yesterday. The fifth day of the Lunar New Year is traditionally about welcoming the God of Wealth, during which companies and shops set off firecrackers to celebrate their reopening and pray for good business in the new year.
RSS