The 228 Massacre is the most tragic massacre in the post-war Taiwan history, in which the scar still has not healed to date. Under the Kuomintang’s autocratic regime, truth concerning the 228 Massacre was unable to be probed because many of the relevant historic documents were not disclosed. As the result, the 228 Massacre has been the biggest shadow and nightmare haunting the society today.
The Kuomintang even took control over the historical interpretation, branding the 228 Massacre as an event of “insurrection” and “treason”, and that the participants were “rioters” and “insurgents.” Historical documents were forced to be disclosed after the government came under much public pressure following the launching of the “Justice and Peace Movement of the 228 Massacre” in 1987, and that the academic were then able to start their research on the 228 Massacre. Even though the research results have been fertile so far, nevertheless there is yet to be any report or solid evidence concerning attribution of due responsibility in the 228 Massacre.
With earnest expectations expressed by the victims and their families, the 228 Memorial Foundation finds ourselves shoulder a great responsibility to probe the matter, which has subsequently led to this research program. After years of work, the book is finally completed with participation from elitist academics. By ways of examining and analyzing the historical documents, it is our attempt to clarify due historical responsibilities in the event of the 228 Massacre.
The Kuomintang thinks the cause of the 228 Massacre was because the Taiwanese people, conforming to the Japanese ways during the Japanese occupation, were influence by Japanese’s anit- China sentiment, hence resisted against the Kuomintang’s takeover. The abetment by the Communists also added to the wedges between the Taiwanese and the Kuomintang. The massacre was exacerbated as result of incitement by ambitious villains and gangsters that brought great anxiety to the public. The Kuomintang orientated the 228 Massacre as a rebellion in which the Taiwanese people attempted to take control of, and break away from China. The Kuomintang also views the participants as rioters and insurgents.
The statement of the Kuomintang has become the government’s usual point of view, but such a viewpoint couldn’t stand the examination of actual research of the history. Disclosure of the historical documents and research on the 228 Massacre these past years have poked the Kuomintang’s viewpoints, and suggested that the occurrence of the 228 Massacre has its historical background.
The take-over officers from China came to Taiwan with a winner attitude, and treated the Taiwanese as losers. They, harbored classism and hostility, governed Taiwan from the high position with arrogance. The take-over officers held all the major positions so the Taiwanese could only take the lowerlevel post and being treated as secondary citizens as in the period under the Japanese Occupation. After being ruled by Japan for 50 years, Taiwan had stepped into a modern society, with the Taiwan people receiving modern education and lawful manner, all of this was far more advanced than the Chinese society. The take-over officers however ignored these facts of advancement, but continued to govern Taiwan with bad Chinese customs, such as corruption, bribery, perverting of the law, and monopolistic practices that caused disorder and chaos. The take-over officers not only monopolized the resources, but also conducted self-profiting acts such as exporting Taiwanese goods and materials to China, and resulted in the shortage of necessity in Taiwan, hence the inflation. The living conditions were far worse than during the Japanese Occupational period. On the culture front, the take-over officers discriminated against the Taiwanese culture, excluded and constrained the Taiwanese values throughout, which caused the the confliction of the cultural cognition between the Taiwanese and Chinese.
These political, social, economical and cultural factors were reasons to the breakout of the 228 Massacre. The cigarettes seizure event on February 27th, 1947 was just the fuse that ignited the eruption. The Kuomintang did not introspect the cause, but instead, turned to oppress the Taiwan people’s call for democratic reforms, and then amplifying the event by exaggerating it as an event of Taiwanese insurrection and an abetment by the Communist Party in between.
The truth of the matter is that the 228 Massacre was not an insurrection and that the people involved were not rioters. It was the improper policy administrated by the Kuomintang regime in Taiwan that led the crowd to stand up and resist, with a rather than engaged thoughts for reforms, cooked up charge of “insurrection,” and dispatched soldiers from China to squash the crowd, swipe the communities, arrest the intellectuals and execute them. Afterwards, the Kuomintang government covered up the truth and closely monitored the dissidents that led the public to fill with air of fear, and resulted in the 228 Massacre to becoming the biggest taboo in the Taiwan public.
Before the 228 Massacre, Yang Liang-Gong, the Control Yuan member and inspector general of Fuchien and Taiwan, inspected Taiwan three times: on January, April and October of 1946. In his reports to the Control Yuan, he stated the fluster in the Taiwan society and pointed Chen Yi shall take to reform the administration. Unfortunately, the advice was unacceptable for Chen Yi and disregarded by the central government. On July, 1946, the Supreme National Defense Council appointed Liou Wun-Dao to assemble an “Investigation Group” for investigation in Taiwan. During the investigation, Liou indicated that Yu Bai-Si, the director of the Trade Bureau, and Ren Wei-Jyun, the director of the Monopoly Bureau, were involved in corruptions. But Chen Yi covered and cleared their crimes that, as the result, both Yu and Ren were released on bail and the case was closed. Those investigation reports couldn’t shake the position of Chen Yi all because Chiang Kai-Shek trusted him deeply.
Before the 228 Massacre, Chiang Kai-Shek, the president of the Nationalist government, heard about the situation in Taiwan through reports by the Party (Lee Yi-Jhong), the Administration (Chen Yi), the Military (Guei Yong-Cing) and the Special Agent (Military Commission Investigation and Statistic Bureau’s Taiwan Station). After the Massacre, the Taiwanese communities in China such as in Shanghai, Tianjin, and Nanjing, etc, as well as the “228 Massacre Handling Committee” and the general public all appealed to the central government not to dispatch army to Taiwan. They requested punishment for Chen Yi, and pardons for the people involved in the Massacre. Nevertheless, Chiang Kai-Shek trusted the reports by Chen Yi and others, and subsequently, designated Liou Yu- Cing, the commander of the 21st division of the military, to lead an army to Taiwan. Once the army arrived in Taiwan, they immediately launched on acts of massacre and purge.
On March 15th, the Kuomintang held the 3rd Plenary Session of the Kuomintang’s 6th Central Executive Committee, and while it processed to the 8th meeting on March 22, it approved a cosignatory proposal initiated by Liou Wun-Dao and a total of 55 people to dismiss Chen Yi from his position and proceed to investigate him. However, Chiang Kai-Shek, impervious to the approved proposal, annulled it. Under the protection of Chiang Kai-Shek, Chen Yi changed to the post of the counselor of the Nationalist government on May 6th. He was also promoted to the president of the Jhejiang Province in June the next year. Peng Meng-Ci, the commandant of Kaohsiung fortress who shot the citizens in Kaohsiung City, was also promoted to an important position as the commander-in-chief of the Taiwan Provincial Garrison Command after the Massacre.
Chiang Kai Shek was unfamiliar with Taiwanese customs, and couldn’t take the advice from Taiwanese people such as that offered by Yang Liang-Gong and Liu Wen-Dao. Instead, he thought the Taiwanese people called for reforms and protested against the injustice as attempted movement to betray and break away from China. It was under that belief that he sent the army to Taiwan to squash the protest, and caused Taiwan great suffers. Chiang Kai-Shek was the president of the Nationalist government, the highest leader of the nation that he controlled absolute powers of the Party, Administration and the Military. Only he could make the decision to dispatch army to Taiwan, as well as only with his supports, that people like Chen Yi could dare to obey no laws and ignore the Taiwanese wills. Only with Chiang’s acquiescence could the army be so boldly as to arrest the people indiscriminately and shoot the innocents without trials. Accordingly, Chiang Kai-Shek was the main culprit behind the Massacre who affected its orientation by deciding to suppress it. It is therefore he should take the most responsibility for the 228 Massacre.
Before the war, Chen Yi had the trust of Chang Kai- Shek. Consequently, he took up the post of the president of the Fuchien Province, and once acted on the behalf of the Republic of China to visit Taiwan during the Taiwan Exposition in 1935. On April 17th, 1944, he was designated as the committee director of the “Taiwan Investigation Committee” in charge of Taiwan affairs. When Japan lost the war on August 15, 1945, Chen Yi was appointed the post of the Administration superior of the Taiwan Province, in addition to his position as the commander-in-chief of the Taiwan Provincial Garrison Command. Given his background and the experience, Chen Yi was considered as the person in the Nationalist Government who’s most familiar with Taiwan. But, gathering from his administrative performance in Taiwan, his performance was far from expectation.
After the Nationalist government took over Taiwan, the Military Commission Investigation and Statistic Bureau, the Kuomintang Central Committee’s Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and the K’ung and Soong Families, all sent their people to Taiwan to pursue, and scramble power and benefits. In view to the situation, Chen Yi did not stop them, but let them fight it out among themselves---a proof of his incompetent leadership. Furthermore, his unfairness in recruiting personnel led to deterioration of moral among his officials and lack of discipline in the army. Due to the improper take-over process, Japanese properties became the private properties of the Nationalist government that even Taiwanese’s private properties were confiscated without a just cause. On the economic front, the government took hold of the control, enforced monopoly, implemented public-operated trade systems, and snatched commercial benefits from the people, which severely affected the development of people’s well-beings. Chen Yi not only was oblivious to people’s complaints, but also covered up for his subordinates. As the result, there was a discontentment among the people.
In the post-228 Massacre, Chen Yi played a double-handed strategy. On the one hand, he agreed to the demands of reforms by the “228 Massacre Handling Committee,” and appeal to the Taiwanese people to stop strikes; on the other hand, he adopted trick that drove wedge between people, availed Chiang Wei-Chuan to produce confliction within the “228 Massacre Handling Committee” all the while gave a untrue report to Nanjing government. On February 28th, he reported to Chiang Kai-Shek that “betrayers conspiring with the gangsters” to create chaos. On March 2nd, he asked the central government to send army to clam the revolt in Taiwan. On March 6th, he submitted a letter to Chiang Kai-Shek, saying that the Taiwanese people attempted to break away from China, and wanted to be independent, a behavior constituted a betrayal of the country. On March 7th, he further demanded more troops to crackdown the uprising. Once he received the information that the armies would arrive from Keelung on March 8th, he immediately changed his behavior, disobeyed demand of Article 42 of the “228 Massacre Handling Committee” and twisted the regulation around and used it to accuse Taiwanese of betraying China for independence. Once the armies landed, Chen Yi allowed them to shot the people at random. He not only did not stop them, but further the implementation of purge in communities.
After the military crackdown, Chen Yi avowed he had done a good merit and wanted to keep his post. So he instigated some Taiwanese to jointly sign a proposal, in support of him to take the post of the president of the Taiwan Province. He was transferred to another post after coming under challenge from others. But shortly after, he was promoted to the president of the Jhejiang Province. In 1949, the Communist army attempted to cross the Yangtze River and towards the south, Chen Yi, seeing that his time has gone, canvassed Tang En-Bo, the Garrison Command commander-in-chief of Nanjing, Shanghai,and Hangzhou, to embrace the Communist Party. Tang En-Bo reported this information to Chiang Kai-Shek, and Chen Yi was arrested and sent to Taiwan. He was accused of “inciting the soldiers to betray the country” on June 1950, and was given a death penalty.
Chen Yi was not punished for the 228 Massacre, but instead, was promoted to the post as the president of Jhejiang Province, all of which suggested the trust and caring Chiang Kai-Shek had toward him. The real reason that Chen Yi was executed was because of his disloyalty to Chiang and intention to go to the Communist’s side, not because of his role in the 228 Massacre. During the period when he was in Taiwan, Chen Yi did not appreciate the relationship with the Taiwanese, nor did he identify with the Taiwanese opinions. During the 228 Massacre, Chen Yi adopted the trick to fool the Taiwanese when he was weak without military backups. From start to finish, he was actually waiting for the right moment to implement the suppression.
Ke Yuan-Fen, the chief of staff of the Taiwan Provincial Garrison Command, was second to Chen Yi, in terms of his authority at the time. After the 228 Massacre, he believed that someone behind the scenes was agitating the Massacre and thought that some people were attempting to overturn the government. In response, he cited claim of treason on March 2nd, and on March 3rd, he gathered Chen Da-Yuan, the charge hand of the Secret Agency who was also the director of the Investigation Office of the Taiwan Provincial Garrison Command, Chang Mu-Tao, the of the 4th regiment of the Military Police, and Lin Ding-Li, head of the Military Commission Investigation and Statistic Bureau’s Taiwan Station, and ordered them to investigate people who instigated the massacre and monitor their movements.
On March 8th, Yang Liang-Gong, the inspector general of Fuchien and Taiwan, came along with the reinforcement army from China and landed in Keelung. While riding with the military force on the way to Taipei that night, he was ambushed. Ke Yuan-Fen believed it was by the Taiwanese rebel forces. However, the general public believed that it was an attack staged by the Taiwan Provincial Garrison Command aimed at misleading Yang Liang-Gong to think it was part of the insurrection by the Taiwanese, hence would be a perfect excuse for the suppression. That same night, there was a rumor from the Taiwan Provincial Garrison Command that the “ruffians attacked” the Yuanshan armory, but the public believed that this too was an event staged by the Taiwan Provincial Garrison Command.
After the Nationalist government’s reinforcements arrived, the Police Force Headquarters took the lead for the capture-andkill operations of the Taiwanese elites and citizens, and used the advantage to extort them for huge ransom. For instance, Lin Jhong-Sian from the Lin clan of Banciao was extorted, and was only able to have his life back by way of giving out bribe. Ke Yuan-Fen’s ill conducts was noted by Yang Liang-Gong as “sinful.”
Peng Meng-Ci was the commandant of Kaohsiung fortress when the 228 Massacre happened. He too believed the Massacre was a conspiracy operation planned with a political attempt by some conspirators. He also strongly believed that it was an operation instigated by the Communists. He therefore decided to suppress it. On March 5, Tu Guang-Ming, Fan Cang-Rong, and Zeng Fong-Ming went to the Kaohsiung fortress at Shoushan with a “Peace Terms” and requested a negotiation with Peng Meng-Ci. Peng, given lack of military preparation on his side, played the trick of compromise aimed at stalling the time and told them that they would continue negotiate the next day. At 9am on March 6, a group of 6 people: Huang Jhong-Tu, the Kaohsiung City mayor, Peng Cing-Kao, the Senate chairman, Tu Guang-Ming, Fan Cang-Rong, Zeng Fong-Ming and Lee Fo-Syu, went to Shoushan, presented the “Peacc Nine Terms.” But Peng then arrested the 6 people by using the excuse that Tu Guang Ming was attempting to pull out a gun to shoot Peng. At 2pm March 6, Peng ordered armies to go on the offensive at the Kaohsiung Train Station, Kaohsiung Senior High School, Kaohsiung City Hall, and the Military Police Department, which resulted in a disastrous bloodshed.
Chen Yi, Ke Yuan-Fen, and Peng Meng-Ci, all contended with the idea of suppression from the beginning to the end. They merely put up a compromising front before the reinforcement arrived. In the fact, at the very beginning of the Massacre, Chen Yi had reported to the Nanjing government at the start of the uprising, and requested them to send the army to suppress. Therefore, all the three people should be held responsible for the suppression of the Taiwanese, and among them, Chen Yi should take the most responsibility because of his improper administration and unfair use of personnel that caused chaos in the public.
Chang Mu Tao, the commander of the 4th regiment of the Military Police, helped Ke Yuan-Fen to induce Chiang Wei- Chuan to appeal to and comfort the crowds, all the while using it to drive wedges within the 228 Massacre Handling Committee and resulted in the turmoil within the committee. After the armies arrived in Taiwan, he even led the military police on March 10 to arrest Chiang Wei-Chuan, act of which suggested his evil-minded of using people, then turned around and arrested them. Fan Song-Yao, vice chief of staff of the Police Force Headquarters, had noted that the Special Advanced Corps, established by the Military Police, and the Special Operation Corps, founded by Lin Ding-Li, were the organizations responsible for capturing the top relevant people. But all the while, they also fought with the Police Force Headquarters for merits.
Shih Hong-Si, the Keelung fortress commandant, launched the capture operation on March 10, using steel wires to perforate through the captured people’s hands and feet, in which 3 to 5 people were tied on to one strand. They then were shot and being thrown to the sea, created a horrific scene of floating bodies covering the entire Keelung Harbor. On March 11, he ordered the armies to besiege the Badu Train Station where he ordered the execution of the rail laborers with firing squad.
Liou Yu-Cing, the commander of the 21st division of the corps, gave his troops free rein to shoot people at random everywhere in Taiwan. On March 21, Chen Yi gave an order for the execution and the “pacification” operation all over Taiwan that divided Taiwan into seven “pacifying districts,” and then beginning the purge operation. The military and administration took the advantage to extort and plunder money and properties. Events of robbery and cases of innocents being framed as murderers happened constantly. Even though Chang Mu-Tao, Shih Hong-Si and Liou Yu-Cing were merely executing their duty, they however became the accomplices for killing people at random, and taking their money and properties. For that reason, the Taiwan Province Government, after reorganization, had no choice but to telegram, and ordered all local government to ban such unlawful acts.
During the post-war’s prime stage, organizations such as the Taiwan Provincial Garrison Command’s Investigation Office, the Military Commission Investigation and Statistic Bureau, the Kuomintang Central Committee’s Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, and the Military Police Corps, set up investigators and informers all over Taiwan to monitor Taiwan people’s moves.
According to Syu De-Huei to Mao Ren-Fong—work report on sowing distrust among enemies in the 228 Massacre, and relevant historical documentations, the Ministry of National Defense’s Countere spionage Bureau had commanded Syu De- Huei to form a “Jhong Yi Service Team” composed of a 250 gangers in Taipei area. On the surface, they presented to keep the public in order, but in actuality, they aimed to exacerbate the Massacre via ways such as beating up the “WaiShengRen” (people live in Taiwan but came from other provinces of China),burning the shops of “WaiShengRen.” He then called on young students to step forward and help keeping the social order, but afterwards he imputed the students to the crime and made them the scapegoats.
Intelligent agents of all systems had their own plans in the Massacre. They secretly telegrammed to the central government, and overstated the scale of the Massacre situation by amplifying the stricken level of the “WaiShengRen,” and claiming there were hundreds of Communists manipulating the Massacre from behind. They even insisted that the Massacre was not a simple call for reforms, but act of power struggle and treason. The purpose of these telegrams was to shred their responsibility for failing to keep the public in order; it in part also aimed at amplifying Chen Yi’s incompetence and dashing his authority. These intelligent unites used it as reason for their request of more armies and the need to enforce military crackdown. When the Nanjing government receiving such an alarming information, it only further strengthen the Nanjing government’s determination to send more military forces to suppress the people.
According to Control Yuan member Ho Han-Wun, and Ho Pin-Ru, the vice section chief of the 21st Division: once the Nationalist government armies arrived in Taiwan, the Party (Kuomintang), Administration, Military, Military Police, and Police Force founded a coalition to investigate people, create blacklists, arrest people at random, and kill people secretly that had resulted in thousands of innocent people suffered and killed. Normally, the intelligent agents played the role of monitoring the people’s rhetoric and actions. After the Massacre, they hunted the information and incited the situation from within as evidence to frame, arrests, and execute the people in the future. The intelligent agents should take their responsibility as accomplices in the event for their negative reports and their eager-to-benefit mentality.
The so-called “BanShan” means people born in Taiwan, but went to China during the Japanese Occupation, then joined the Kuomintang and worked for the Nationalist Government and Kuomintang. Becuase “BanShan” had much Chinese experience that was incomparable by local Taiwanese, for that reason, the Nationalist government used their specialty to administrate Taiwan after it took over Taiwan. “BanShan” people were supposed to play the role of bridge between the Nationalist Government and Taiwan. The “BanShan” took up the major posts after the war and benefited from the Kuomintang’s takeover of Taiwan. Their competitive relations of power and benefits with the local Taiwanese elites disallowed them to be good intermediaries. Additionally, the Nationalist governors did not fully trust the “BanShan”, so the latter were not granted any significant decision-making powers. Therefore the “BanShan” could only play a small role as Chinese take-over officers.
After the 228 Massacre, Chen Yi used “BanShan” such as Huang Chao-Cin, the chairman of the provincial senate, Lian Jhen-Dong, the general secretary of the provincial senate, Lee Wan-Jyu, the congressman, and Lin Jhong, the member of the National Politics Assembly, to mediate. But, instead of standing up for the Taiwanese’ causes, these “BanShan” mostly stood on Chen Yi’s side. They also fought for their own interests and benefit from Chen Yi.
Some “BanShan” were appreciated by the ruling authorities and participated in the suppression operation, thus became the accomplices of the suppression, such as Lin Ding-Li, head of the of Military Commission Investigation and Statistic Bureau’s Taiwan Station, Liou Ci-Guang, the chairman of HuaNan Bank who was once a military post, and Wang Min-Ning, who took the Police Affair director after the Massacre. It was through help of the “BanShan” that the military and police were able to draw up the list and arrest Taiwanese elites.
In the 228 Massacre, some “BanShan” were killed for being outspoken of the situation and standing on the side of the Taiwanese. For instance, they were, Song Fei-Ru, the vice director of the Education Bureau, who used to be the principal of the “People Herald,“ and Chen Fu-Jhih, the ChiaYi Division director of the Three Principle of the People Youth Crops. In the mind of the Nationalist Government, only the obedient people could be given the important jobs, and the protesters were treated as an eyesore, even the “BanShan” with a higher Chinese mixture couldn’t escape the fate of being executed.
After the Nationalist Government took over Taiwan, all different powers such as the Party, Administration, Military and Special Agent invaded Taiwan and scrambled for territories and resources. Far before the Taiwanese people recognized the Kuomintang’s faction and power structure, they were drawn into the fights among the undivided parties or countries under the Steering Government system.
As different groups fought for resources in Taiwan during the take-over process, the Kuomintang chief committeeman of Taiwan Province Lee Yi-Jhong controlled the social organizations, and was put in charge of the suppression. The Taiwan Province Political Development Association was founded thru the help of the Kuomintang’s provincial party department. But after the Taiwan Province Political Development Association actively presented requests to implement local election, it caused discontent from Lee Yi- Jhong and Chen Yi. After the 228 Massacre, Chen Yi and others ordered the leader of the association to appeal to the crowds for calm, in order to gain time before the reinforcement arrived from China. Once the reinforcements arrived, the association was blamed for recruiting Taiwanese, who once served as soldiers for the Japanese government, to keep the public in order. Chen Yi gave order to dismiss the association. Several cadres were captured and killed, some hid wherever they could or escaped overseas. On the contrary, the “Taiwan Province Constitutional Reform Association,“ which mainly consisted of “BanShan”, launched a “Taiwan New Culture Movement Committee” after the Massacre, supported the Nationalist Government’s policy, and subsequently many of its members climbed up the political ladder. From this example, it showed that only the royal “BanShan” could gain the appreciation from the Nationalist Government.
On March 8th after the Nationalist government army arrived in Taiwan, media newspapers were checked up. For example, Lin Mao-Ru, the director of People Daily, Wu Jin- Lian, the Japanese edition chief editor of SinSheng Daily and its general manager Ruan Jhao-Rih, former and later director of the People Herald Song Fei-Ru and Wang Tian-Ding, chief editor of the DaMing Daily Ai Lu Sheng, and SinSheng Daily’s Kaohsiung Branch director Ciou Jin-Shan, Chiayi branch director Su Sian- Jhang, and Taichung branch reporter Chen An-Nan, Su Sian- Jhang were killed. Syu Nai-Chang, the chief director and Chen Wang-Cheng, the editorial writer of the People Daily escaped after being listed on the wanted list. In addition, People Daily, People Herald, DaMing Daily, and Peace Daily Newspaper couldn’t escape the destiny of being shut down by the government. These are solid proof of the Nationalist Government’s persecution of dissidents and freedom of speech and thoughts.
To seek out media responsibility we need to probe the due responsibility of the “Central News Agency.” The Central News Agency was the Kuomintang-operated organization, responsible for collecting intelligence information. In the post-war, period, the Central News Agency established a division in Taipei, put in to the charge hand of Ye Ming-Syun whose major work was to pass news covered from Taiwan to the head agency in Nanjing. Recent discovery of the “Central News Agency secret telegram original copy” allowed us to know that the telegram reports at the time were all in support of Chen Yi’s government and the military. The telegrams ignored Taiwanese’ opinion and the truth of the social fermentation; instead they went on to suggest that the Nanjing government should sent army to crackdown the situation in Taiwan. Because the Central News Agency was a significant channel for Nanjing government to gain information on Taiwan’s political situation, its reports definitely played a certain weights towards the decision made by Chiang Kai- Shek. Therefore, the Central News Agency should take the responsibility for its unjust reports that twisted the truth, and passed erroneous information.
The rulers always had all sorts of channels to control and monitor the general public, one of these channels was the informer. In the 228 Massacre, for example, there is hearsay regarding the “228 Massacre Handling Committee” during a meeting held at the JhongShan Hall that there were undercover informants monitoring and agitating the event. On March 8th, there was the noise that some “ruffians” attacked the Navy office at nearby YuanShan area. On March 9th, there was the rumor that Yang Liang-Gong was attacked by the “ruffians” at midnight. These three conspiracy theories all related to plan by the military and police, with informers creating noise in the middle. For instance, the “Jhong Yi Service Team” led by Syu De-Huei was disguised as role to keep the public in order before the army arrived Taiwan from China. Once the Nationalist government army arrived, however, the so-called service team changed its role right away and turned around to arrest Taiwanese people.
The army proceeded to the operations of suppression and purge after arriving Taiwan. They demanded the people to hand over their weapon and list of “bad people” by ways of threats and “punishment of related people.” In many cases people were killed as result of report by betrayers, and makebelieve stories by frame-up plotters. It might be that the people became informers because of fear of getting involved, but it may also have been that they were opportunists wishing to take advantage for personal revenge, and, or other political motives. Most of the informers’ true identities were unknown, hence made it difficult to learn their real names in the later days. Even if their real names and identification could be found, it would be difficult to manage and get a hold of specific proof tying them as informants.
The informers, betrayers and conspirators provided the intelligence with information that deepen and expanded the damage level of the 228 Massacre. Therefore they should also bear contain level of responsibility in the event. However the secret agency and the government who took their stories without any work to verify the information, should shoulder greater responsibility than that of the informants, betrayers or conspirators.
The 228 Massacre has caused great damages—visibly and invisibly---to the Taiwan society. Many Taiwanese social elites such as people’s representatives, lawyers, doctors, judiciaries, prosecutors, professors, teachers, business leaders, media workers, and students were arrested. Some never came back home and their whereabouts are still unaccounted-for; some others were executed and had their bodies displayed publicly. And still, there were some who perished with their loved ones to this day do not know where their remains are; and some others having money and properties taken away from them and are not returned. Almost all the Taiwanese elites were wrecked by these horrors that the surviving few lied low in public scenes and shunned from political activities. According to the 228 Massacre Research Report issued by the Executive Yuan, the calculated death toll approximates 18000~28000, with actual tally remains unknown to this day.
As for the invisible damages, they are incalculable. After the 228 Massacre, the Nationalist government adapted stratagem of suppression and purge in their dealing with the dissidents. Result of which had filled the public with air of fear and left people frightened. Since then, Taiwanese dare not to talk about the 228 Massacre, and people who underwent the 228 Massacre would often warn their children to stay away from politics, and to “keep your eyes open but your mouth shut, to listen but not talk.” The 228 Massacre is not only a taboo, but a congregated bereaved memory of Taiwan history. Taiwanese lost their confidence and lofty sentiments, and were forced to kneel before the autocratic rule of the Kuomintang. The Kuomintang also took the opportunity to kick away stumbling blocks that got in its way, advanced the development of a China-centric policy, and built up a cultural hegemony that compressed the Taiwanese culture that subsequently shaped the White Terror Era after 1950.
Under the party-state rule of the Kuomintang, the 228 Massacre had been a big taboo that no one dared to challenge. It wasn’t until the democratic movement in the 1980s that the “Justice and Peace Movement of the 228 Massacre” then started to challenge the authority of Kuomintang. The process of the movement in addressing the miscarriage of the justice was jittery and full of conflict. Nonetheless, it has achieved three major accomplishments. First of all, there is the breaking of the political taboo, in which the 228 Massacre no longer is viewed as a insurrection, rebellion and people involved in the Massacre are no longer regarded as rioters, or insurgent. Secondly, the breaking of the historical taboo, in which the 228 Massacre can now be studied openly, and there are no more forbidden issues in the study of Taiwan’s history. People now can challenge the historical viewpoints presented by the Kuomintang’s partystate regime. Thirdly, there is the breaking of the cultural taboo, in which writers, poets and artists no longer need to avoid the subject of the 228 Massacre in their works. They are now able to present works that carry characteristics of Taiwan’s culture. These three significant breakthroughs allow the 228 Massacre to become an important cultural heritage to Taiwan.
In the process of democratization, lifting of bans on the subject of the 228 Massacre should be regarded as one great achievement in Taiwan’s history. However, the deeply-rooted party-state rule of the Kuomintang in the Taiwanese society has led some people to judge others with traditional Chinese political trend of thoughts. They beautified rulers’ image and cleaned up their crimes. For examples, they said Chiang Kai shek’s decision to send troops to crackdown the Massacre in Taiwan was misled by Chen Yi; they said it was due to ineffable grievance that the Kuomintang, amid stand-off with the Chinese Communist Party in the post-WWII, had no choice but to resort to forceful crackdown on the Massacre. Some said the 228 Massacre was the Mainlanders’ revenge against the Taiwanese for hitting the Mainlanders in the first place, while some other even argued that the 228 Massacre happened in Taiwan was not a big deal as there were crackdown in elsewhere in China. All the sayings were virtually excuses for the rulers, and not from the stand point of democracy and high rights. The 3rd generation of human right concept in the 1970s emphasizes the respects for education, history, culture, and protection for the rights of the underprivileged groups. Taiwan at the time was the underprivileged party being dominated by others. The Nationalist government, by logic, should take care of people’s well-being and hear the people out. It should be humble in the face of people’s appeal for reforms. The Nationalist government however, went on the opposite way. It abused power of the authority, sent troops to crackdown the people, and then justified its act of violence by attributing the faults to the Taiwanese people. Such rhetoric, filled with cruelty and arrogance, had already violated the universal values of human rights, freedom, and democracy.
Taiwan accomplishes many proud achievements during its democratic transformation. But social justice has long been neglected under the premise of political reality, ethnic harmony, and call for forgiveness. People are hesitant to probe the historical damages caused by the rulers in a fear that it may stir a conflict again. The truth of matter however is that if we can not face the truth of the past history, we then won’t be able to step out of the shadows, and reach the state of mutual forgiveness. Reconciliation can be made in politics, but with history, it cannot be used to solve the problems. It is for that reason, we re-examine the culprits and relevant partakers in the crackdown of the 228 Massacre in the hope that, through introspection of the matter, social justice and historical justice can truly be implemented in Taiwan, and that people in Taiwan can remember this painful historical lesson and cherish the fruit of democracy. It is also our expectation that the study of the 228 Massacre can be more than just a patent for the historical researchers, but a research topic for all academic fields. Civil code academic Huang Mao-Rong and Criminal code academic Chen Tze-Lung all pointed out that oppressors of the 28 Massacre not only have historical responsibility, but also that of criminal and civil offenses. In the post-WWII, Jews’ probe of the responsibility of the Nazi’s massacre of Jews is a perfect teaching material of how people should engage in selfintrospection in the face of historical events. Taiwan history also needs this kind of introspection so that human rights and social justice can truly be rooted in Taiwan.
(Chang Yan-Hsian is the chairman of Academia Historica and convener of the Memorial Foundation of 228’s “228 Massacre Truth Research Task Force”)