Taiwan's pain remembered 52 years later
On Feb. 28, Taiwan Peace Day will be celebrated in various communities around the
world. Although this day fosters unity and understanding among all people, it commemorates
a somber day in 1947 on the small island nation of Formosa, now called Taiwan.
The beating of a poor elderly woman selling contraband cigarettes led to large-scale
public protests against repressive and corrupt Chinese Nationalist rule, veritably
supported by the Allied Powers and the United States. After 10 days of "minor"
killings and superficial "cooperation" by the government, reinforcement troops
were sent from China by Chiang Kai-Shek, which led to the holocaust of Taiwan, a.k.a. 2-28
incident, and 40 years of martial law.
"Yet still the Formosans hoped. American propaganda, promising freedom to all
oppressed peoples and citing the glorious Revolution of 1776, continued to pour in upon
them.
"In February 1947 unarmed Formosans rose en masse to demand reforms in the
administration at Taipei. Chiang Kai-Shek's answer was a brutal massacre. Thousands died
-- first among them were the leaders who had asked for American help. Washington turned a
deaf ear, while the Chinese communists rejoiced." -- George H. Kerr, U.S. Consulate
official in Taiwan
"Formosa killings are put at 10,000, foreigners say the Chinese slaughtered
demonstrators without provocation." -- New York Times, March 29, 1947
"Police on trucks roamed (Taipei) shooting into unarmed crowds. Troops knocked on
doors of houses and shot the first person who appeared. They looted left and right.
Thousands of Formosans were arrested and jailed. It was evidently a common practice to
bind prisoners with thin wire. The dead bodies of bound men were found every morning on
the streets, some beheaded or castrated." -- Newsweek, April 7, 1947
"On my way home from the weather bureau, where I worked, a car pulled up. Several
men jumped out and threw me inside after shoving my mother to the ground. It was March 20,
and I was just 19 years old.
"I was taken to an old temple that was converted to a prison. I was blindfolded
and forced to spend the next couple of days on a thin, moldy mattress, given only two
small bowls of rice and water for food a day.
"The beatings started soon thereafter. My hands were whipped 50 times on each
side. The soldiers then chained my bleeding hands behind my back before returning me to
the prisoner room.
"A week passed, and I was taken to an interrogation room. I was exhausted as it
was in the middle of the night. Two men asked me questions about the student revolt a few
weeks earlier. I answered a truthful and innocent 'no' to their questions. Apparently
dissatisfied, the men whipped my back simultaneously until early morning.
"Another week passed before the interrogations began again. This time, I told the
soldiers I was a Christian, and that I would tell them any information if I had it. They
didn't believe me since six men began beating me with baseball bats, eventually forcing me
to my knees. Once on the ground, they tried to break my kneecaps by placing a large pole
just behind each knee. This lasted for about three hours.
"When I could no longer kneel on my own, the soldiers punched me with their
pistols, attempting to make me hemorrhage. This failed, but they soon forced me to swallow
a hose halfway and rushed water through it. This made me collapse unconscious, and the
soldiers left me for dead.
"Two weeks of drifting consciousness passed before I received a divine revelation
that saved me. Most of my fellow captives were killed, but 19 days later, by the grace of
God, my life was spared." -- the Rev. Yung Sheng Chen, my father
During the 40-year martial law that followed, 2-28 was kept secret. Even now, many
people are unaware of its occurrence. Scholars who would like to conduct research about
2-28 cannot gain access to a number of government archives because Taiwan's Department of
Defense refuses to make public records in its archives for the years between 1945 to 1950.
However, there is hope. Memorials are being erected throughout Taiwan honoring the
victims of 2-28. A museum in Taipei has been opened to teach people about it. The 50th
anniversary of 2-28 in 1997 brought forth a series of performances, dialogues and other
mediums throughout the world to educate and inform about 2-28. The victims and victims'
families have been awarded reparations by the Taiwan government.
All of this recent attention to 2-28 serves not to garner hatred and bitterness, but
rather, to promote knowledge and awareness of a facet of history ingrained in a culture
historically suppressed by politics and resentment. The 2-28 incident serves as a reminder
to what people are capable of doing to one another, and a caveat to those who would dare
repeat such atrocities. It serves as a catalyst to why Taiwan is not a part of China, and
why the Taiwanese people deserve the right to self-determination; the right to choose
whether they want to unify with China or declare independence.
Taiwan is being refused this right by China, who in turn coerces the international
community not to recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation. The Taiwanese people are also
being refused this right by their own ruling government, the same government responsible
for the 2-28 incident.
The Chinese Nationals who still rule Taiwan confuse the international community with
false notions of "reunification" with China, even though Taiwan has never been a
part of today's China. Perhaps, then, the sadness of the Taiwanese people lies not so much
in a holocaust from long ago than in the fact they have no country to call their own?
Write to Peter at 00pjchen or go to his Web site at http://www.oocities.org/~aaaf
Peter Chen is a senior management major and writes "International Chopsticks"
for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper.
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