Inside Taiwan’s Political Purgatory: 228 Massacre scars Taiwan history (Part 3 of 20)

On February 28, 1947, the Kuomintang troops of Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China regime began a repressive crackdown of a spontaneous and popular uprising of the Taiwanese people against Chinese rule of occupied Taiwan following World War II.

Four decades of harsh martial law followed the 228 Massacre and subsequent White Terror period when it was even illegal to commemorate the anniversary of the 1947 tragedy.

The actual number of victims will never be known as victims were buried in mass graves and dumped in rivers and the ocean. Estimates now range from approximately 30,000 to 150,000 murdered during the 228 Massacre and following years. The higher estimates are based on a census count that included missing household members with the number of confirmed deaths.

Canadian scholar Craig Smith of the University of British Columbia has studied the 228 Massacre and written about the killings and impact on Taiwanese history.

“The importance of the 228 Incident cannot be underestimated by the politicians in Taiwan. In the divisive politics of the island, the symbolism of a massacre perpetrated by mainlanders against Taiwanese is of crucial importance. And the use of this massacre in Taiwanese politics and nationalism is a sacred and sensitive event that binds Taiwanese together and divides them from the mainlanders makes the incident an important topic for historians. It is strange then to see it has been ignored by so many.”

“Even before the [Chinese] troops reached the shore they began shooting. Once in the cities, the soldiers shot indiscriminately at anyone on the street. This was especially true in Keelung, Taipei, Chiayi, and Kaohsiung, where the fighting was at its worst. This terrifying method of controlling rebellions was standard for the Kuomintang, who had been desperate in their fights on the mainland for many years. However, the policy went to new extremes in Taiwan as the battle-hardened troops were facing the frustration of a language barrier in their attempts to control the Taiwanese.”

American diplomat George Kerr was stationed in Taipei during the 228 Massacre and wrote about the tragic events in his book Formosa Betrayed .

“I had been lunching nearby….when suddenly we heard the rattle of machine-gun fire.”

Kerr hurried to the scene and found a row of heavily armed Chinese Nationalist troops and a crowd of unarmed demonstrators with bodies laying in the street. A United Nations observer arrived and bravely stepped into the street to prevent further shooting.

“Edward E. Paine drove into the plaza; with great presence of mind he appraised the confrontation, drove his jeep to a position between the Governor’s guard and the muttering crowd, and leaped out. He signaled the soldiers to stand off. They were amazed at this bold action and shuffled back to positions within the gateway as Paine checked the six bodies….When the crowd realized what had so swiftly taken place, it broke into a cheer for the lone American who had so boldly stood off the Governor’s armed guard.”

However, events were racing out of control and no more lone Americans would be able to quell the bloodshed of the Chinese soldiers. Nor would Kerr’s anguished reports to Washington bring any help to the island to prevent the killings that were soon to sweep the island. On March 9, 1947, Kuomintang reinforcements arrived from the mainland and mass killings began with a sudden ferocity.

“After three days of random shooting and bayoneting in the Taipei streets the Government forces began to push out into the suburban and rural areas. Machine-gun squads, mounted on trucks, were driven along the highroads for fifteen or twenty miles, shooting at random in village streets in an effort to break any spirit of resistance that might still be present.”

“We saw students tied together, being driven to the execution grounds, usually along the river banks and ditches about Taipei, or at the waterfront in Keelung. One foreigner counted more than thirty young bodies--in student uniforms--lying along the roadside east of Taipei; they had their noses and ears slit or hacked off, and many had been castrated. Two students were beheaded near my front gate. Bodies lay unclaimed on the roadside embankment near the mission compound.”

Despite Kerr’s urgent pleas for help from Washington, no help from the United States was to come. On March 12th, while the bloodshed continued in Taiwan, the President was busy announcing the Truman Doctrine for Europe denouncing aggression against free people. America’s double-standard, one for Europe and another for Chinese-occupied Taiwan, would doom the gentle and peaceful islanders to a cruel fate for years to come.

“For days the dead continued to be washed up in Keelung Harbor. The wharves and narrow beaches were a favored execution ground.”

“At Kaohsiung there were incidents in which the victims’ families were forced to witness cruel executions in the public streets. The nights in Taipei were made grim with the sounds of shooting, of screams, and occasionally pleas for mercy heard as victims were driven along dark streets.”

“Boys were shot down from bicycles as they rode.”

“I shall not forget the wordless appeal in the eyes of four well-dressed young men who passed my gate and my protective American flag at midday on March 13. They were tied together by ropes attached to wires twisted about their necks, the arms bound, and were being hurried along toward the execution place on the banks of the Keelung River nearby. The ragged Nationalist soldier prodding them along at bayonet point saw the American flag on my jeep, and gave me the smartest salute he could manage. Here was the betrayal in its most simple terms.”

Inside Taiwan's Political Purgatory: Next, a visit to the 228 Massacre Museum