page_title: February 28 incident
section_title: Legacy
hierarchical_section_title: February 28 incident / Legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: 1947 marked the beginning of a brutal crackdown by the ROC troops on the people of Taiwan. It is believed more than 10,000 people were killed.
context_page_description: The February 28 incident or the February 28 massacre, also known as the 228 incident, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that was violently suppressed by the Kuomintang-led Republic of China government, which killed thousands of civilians beginning on February 28, 1947. The number of Taiwanese deaths from the incident and massacre was estimated to be between 5,000 and 28,000. The massacre marked the beginning of the White Terror, in which tens of thousands of other Taiwanese went missing, died or were imprisoned. The incident is one of the most important events in Taiwan's modern history and was a critical impetus for the Taiwan independence movement.
  In 1945, following the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, the Allies handed administrative control of Taiwan to the Republic of China, thus ending 50 years of Japanese colonial rule. Local inhabitants became resentful of what they saw as highhanded and frequently corrupt conduct on the part of the Kuomintang authorities, including arbitrary seizure of private property, economic mismanagement, and exclusion from political participation.
context_section_description: The initial 228 purge was followed by 38 years of martial law, commonly referred to as the "White Terror," which lasted until the end of 1987, during which over a 100,000 people were imprisoned for political reasons of which over 1,000 were executed. During this time, discussion of the incident was taboo.
  The government hoped that the execution of Governor Chen Yi and financial compensation for the victims had quelled resentment. In the 1970s, the 228 Justice and Peace Movement was initiated by several citizens' groups to ask for a reversal of this policy, and, in 1992, the Executive Yuan promulgated the "February 28 Incident Research Report." Then-President and KMT-chairman Lee Teng-hui, who had participated in the incident and was arrested as an instigator and a Communist sympathizer, made a formal apology on behalf of the government in 1995 and declared February 28 a day to commemorate the victims. Among other memorials erected, Taipei New Park was renamed 228 Memorial Park.
  Since the lifting of martial law in 1987, the government has set up the 228 Incident Memorial Foundation, a civilian reparations fund supported by public donations for the victims and their families. Many descendants of victims remain unaware that their family members were victims, while many of the families of victims from Mainland China did not know the details of their relatives' mistreatment during the riot.  Those who have received compensation more than two times are demanding trials of the still-living soldiers and officials who were responsible for the summary executions and deaths of their loved ones.
  Prior to the 228 massacres, many Taiwanese hoped for greater autonomy from China.  The failure of conclusive dialogue with the ROC administration in early March, combined with the feelings of betrayal felt towards the government and China, in general, are widely believed to have catalyzed today's Taiwan Independence movement and subsequently the Taiwan Name Rectification Campaign after democratization.
  On February 28, 2004, thousands of Taiwanese participated in the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally. They formed a 500-kilometer (310 mi) long human chain from Taiwan's northernmost city to its southern tip to commemorate the 228 incident, to call for peace, and to protest the People's Republic of China's deployment of missiles aimed at Taiwan along the coast of Taiwan Strait.
  In 2006, the Research Report on Responsibility for the 228 Massacre was released after several years of research. The 2006 report was not intended to overlap with the prior (1992) 228 Massacre Research Report commissioned by the Executive Yuan. Chiang Kai-shek is specifically named as bearing the largest responsibility in the 2006 report. However, some hardline academics have tried to confuse these conclusions, stating the departing Japanese colonial government was responsible by creating food shortages and causing inflation.
  In 1990, Taiwan's Executive Yuan set up a task force to investigate the 2/28 Incident. The Report of the 228 Incident was published in 1992, and a memorial was set up in 1995 at the 2/28 Peace Park in Taipei. In October 1995, the state-funded Memorial Foundation of 228 was initially established to distribute compensation and award rehabilitation certificates to 228 Incident victims in order to restore their reputation. Family members of dead and missing victims are eligible for NT$6 million (approximately US$190,077). Compensation application trial statistics, according to Memorial Foundation of 228 (www.228.org.tw), almost 24 years later, as of June 25, 2019:
  Number of cases accepted: 2,857
  Number of cases reviewed: 2,823
  Number of cases established: 2,319
  Death cases: 686
  Missing cases: 181
  Detention, imprisoned, etc.: 1,452
  Number of cases not established: 504
  Inconsistent legal requirements: 301
  Insufficient evidence: 203
caption: Former Vice President Annette Lu, once a political prisoner, speaking at the 228 Memorial
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