TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taipei's mayor will visit 228 Peace Memorial Park (二二八和平公園) on Saturday (Feb. 28) to commemorate victims of the 228 Incident, a 1947 massacre that remains one of the most significant events in Taiwan's modern history. The park, located at the intersection of Gongyuan Road (公園路), Xiangyang Road (襄陽路), Huaining Street (懷寧街), and Ketagalan Boulevard (凱達格蘭大道), serves as Taiwan's primary memorial site for the tragedy. Originally called Taipei Park when established in 1899, it is the oldest park in Taipei.
The 228 Incident arose from policies implemented by the Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨), Taiwan's then-ruling party, which took control of Taiwan in 1945. Economic monopolization, corruption, and cultural differences widened the gap between native Taiwanese and mainland Chinese immigrants. Tensions erupted during a crackdown on illegal cigarette sales, when authorities injured a vendor and killed a civilian, igniting long-held resentment among local Taiwanese and sparking the Feb. 28 Incident.
The following day, protesters had taken over Taipei's radio station, spreading their message across the island and calling for action. The government deployed military forces to suppress the uprising, with reports of indiscriminate violence and reprisals against local Taiwanese across multiple regions. Taiwanese residents, including students, responded by attacking local governments, organizing militia, and raiding armories to obtain weapons, escalating the conflict into widespread unrest.
The unrest escalated into near-nationwide riots, prompting a far more deadly suppression by the government, despite peaceful negotiation attempts by local gentry seeking resolution. The 228 Incident left numerous local Taiwanese executed or missing, deepening social division between native residents and immigrants from mainland China, now known as the People's Republic of China. The massacre remained a taboo subject in Taiwan for decades under martial law, suppressing public discussion.