The February 28 Incident
二二八事件
Source: The Outbreak and Impact of the February 28 Incident
From: Takao Kaohsiung | History and the Present
Date: February 28, 2016
On the evening of February 27, 1947, Lin Jiang-mai, a woman selling contraband cigarettes near the Tianma Teahouse in Taipei, had her goods seized by agents of the Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau’s Taipei branch. She pleaded for mercy, but the agents refused, struck her in the scuffle, and then — while fleeing the angry crowd — opened fire and killed a bystander. This threw the situation out of control. Many people beat drums and gongs, rallying others to take to the streets the following day. On the morning of February 28, 1947, large crowds marched in protest and clashed sporadically with police and soldiers. The demonstrators eventually converged on the Taiwan Provincial Administrator-General’s Office (today’s Executive Yuan), where guards opened fire on the crowd without warning, causing multiple casualties. This further enraged the public. Protesters moved to Taipei New Park (today’s 228 Peace Memorial Park), occupied the Taiwan Broadcasting Station inside the park, and broadcast accounts of the events — releasing a torrent of grievances that had built up across Taiwan over the year since the Nationalist government’s takeover. In many localities, Taiwanese residents seized government offices and attacked mainland Chinese, in events now known as the “February 28 Incident.”
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External Links
- On Taiwan’s Tragedy — The Origins of the February 28 Incident
- A Full Account of the February 28 Incident
- February 28 Incident Chronology (Source: Wu San-lien Taiwan Historical Archives Foundation)
- Was the February 28 Incident a Massacre? (Source: People News)
- Interview with February 28 Survivor Chen Ming-zhong — Hear a Taiwanese Person’s Story (Source: Good Day Journal)