'2-28' Massacre in Taiwan Commemorated

The Taiwanese Cultural Society (TCS) on Saturday commemorated the 50th anniversary of the "2-28" incident, one of the bloodiest events in Taiwanese history.

Sidney S. Chang, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a physician at the Brockton Veterans Administration Medical Center, spoke for almost two hours about the incident, explaining the history of the 1947 event that resulted in the deaths of roughly 20,000 people.

The incident, which occurred in Taiwan shortly after the end of the Second World War, was sparked by actions taken by agents of the Taiwanese Monopoly Bureau, a part of the Chinese Nationalist Government.

On Feb. 27, 1947 agents from the bureau seized cigarettes from a woman selling them on a city street without proper authorization. The woman and an onlooker were accidentally killed.

The next day, Feb. 28, from which the incident got its name, a crowd demanding justice rallied outside of the governor's office. Police fired into the crowd, killing several people and inciting an uprising that spread across the island.

According to Charles Hsu '96, the protestors were not only demanding justice for the death of the vendor but were also protesting the harsh and corrupt regime.

To suppress the protests, the Nationalist Government leader, Chiang Kai-shek, imposed martial law on the island and sent troops from mainland China. As the troops moved from north to south on the island, they killed roughly 20,000 people indiscriminately.

About 30 students attended the commemoration, which included a speech about the "2-28" incident and a reception in Sever Hall.

Noting that neither the government nor textbooks in Taiwan acknowledged the incident until recently, many students said they felt it was important to learn about the event.

"When something like this happens, you want people to know about it," said Yu-Han Chang '98. "You want everyone to learn about it so it won't happen again."

According to Michelle Chen '99, the commemoration was successful in educating people about the hardships that Taiwanese people have faced.

"I don't think that many people know that much about Taiwanese history," said Chen. "Most people really don't know what Taiwanese people have been struggling against to become independent."

"I thought it was a great presentation," said Hsu, former co-president of TCS, a group that tries to serve students interested in exploring their Taiwanese roots. "[Chang] talked about the event and made it under-standable to people who didn't know about Taiwanese history."

Students like Dasa Pejchar '99, who had no previous knowledge of the incident, found the presentation extremely interesting.

"I didn't know much about the incident at all," said Pejchar. "I learned a lot.

Noting that neither the government nor textbooks in Taiwan acknowledged the incident until recently, many students said they felt it was important to learn about the event.

"When something like this happens, you want people to know about it," said Yu-Han Chang '98. "You want everyone to learn about it so it won't happen again."

According to Michelle Chen '99, the commemoration was successful in educating people about the hardships that Taiwanese people have faced.

"I don't think that many people know that much about Taiwanese history," said Chen. "Most people really don't know what Taiwanese people have been struggling against to become independent."

"I thought it was a great presentation," said Hsu, former co-president of TCS, a group that tries to serve students interested in exploring their Taiwanese roots. "[Chang] talked about the event and made it under-standable to people who didn't know about Taiwanese history."

Students like Dasa Pejchar '99, who had no previous knowledge of the incident, found the presentation extremely interesting.

"I didn't know much about the incident at all," said Pejchar. "I learned a lot.