Today marks the 66th anniversary of the 228 Incident, a tragic page in Taiwan’s history that ushered in the White Terror era and, subsequently, steered Taiwan and its people into one of the world’s longest periods of martial law, from May 19, 1949, until July 15, 1987.
The 1947 uprising against the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime resulted in tens of thousands of people killed, missing, tortured and imprisoned without public trials. The elimination of many social elites — ethnic Taiwanese and Mainlanders alike — meant not only the tragic breakup of families and a high death toll, but also left a lasting impact on society.




