Talking Taiwan: Commemorating the 228 Massacre: Taboos, Scars, Stigmas, and an Essential Lesson in Taiwan History
228, February 28, 1947 is an important date in history for Taiwan. In Taiwan it is a national holiday known as 228 Peace Day, and since 228, which is also known as the 228 Massacre is just around the corner, we thought we’d share the first of 2 special episodes that we did last year for the 75th anniversary of the 228 Massacre.
[LISTEN to the Complete Episode HERE on APPLE PODCASTS or SPOTIFY]
At the same time, we wanted to share some community announcements for our listeners who might be looking for ways to commemorate 228. If you’re in New York, the Taiwan Center in Flushing, NY will be having a 228 Remembrance Memorial Service on Saturday, February 25, 2023 from 2:00-3:30pm. And for those in California, Josephine Pan tells me that annual 228 Commemorative Concert will be held in person again this year on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 7:30pm at the Arcadia Community Church. Both of these events are open and free to the public.
Full details for the 228 commemorative events in New York and California are listed below in the Related Links section.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
to reach out and work with women’s organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
How each guest first heard of or learned about 228
How the 228 was a forbidden topic of discussion
How my guests and their families were personally impacted by 228
The Formosa Incident aka Kaohsiung Incident
The White Terror and Martial Law era of Taiwan
The writer who was sent to prison because of his Chinese-language translation of a Popeye comic
Why the topic of 228 has been so taboo
Tsuann’s grandfather who was a political prisoner during the White Terror era
Post-traumatic stress
What Tsuann’s relatives experienced and witnessed about 228
Why Tsuann decided to try to help 228 victims and their families
Green Island, the place where political prisoners were exiled
The case of a 15-year-old girl who was jailed
How political prisoners, after being released were ostracized by society
How things banned during the Martial Law era included books, music, art or any medium related to communism or that was critical of the Kuomintang
Personal accounts of people persecuted during the Martial Law era
The families whose husbands and fathers disappeared due to 228
What Josephine’s relatives experienced and witnessed about 228
The privileges and overrepresentation granted to the Chinese vs. local Taiwanese under Kuomintang (KMT) rule
The injustices in Taiwan’s society under the initial rule of the KMT
Why it’s important to remember and understand 228
The importance of healing from historic trauma
Canada’s residential schools
What Tsuann discovered about 228 survivors through her work with the Transitional Justice Committee
Why Josephine started organizing an annual concert to commemorate 228
How 228 became a national holiday in 1998 but has almost been cancelled as a holiday twice
Comparisons of 228 Peace Memorial Day with U.S. holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Memorial Day
My guests’ thoughts on whether or not 228 remains a national holiday
Indigenous Peoples Day
How to commemorate 228
What young people in Taiwan know about 228
What was previously taught to Josephine, Tsuann, and Wei-Wei about Taiwan in their textbooks when they were high school students in Taiwan
How the 228 Massacre has only recently been included in high school textbooks
How the 228 Massacre is being taught in high schools
The Jing-Mei Prison Museum in Taipei
Music that was banned during the White Terror era
Experiential ways to learn about 228
Related Links:
228 Remembrance Memorial Service
Saturday, February 25, 2023, 2:00-3:30pm
Taiwan Center (137-44 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY 11354)
Event Link: https://fb.me/e/2ovnxPo9Q
2-28 Commemorative Concert
Tuesday, February 28, 2023, 7:30pm
Arcadia Community Church (121 Alice Ave., Arcadia, CA 91006)
FREE Admission
The 2021 228 Concert sponsored by Taiwan Elite Alliance and Taiwanese United Fund: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAR2dJ1wvwM&t=127s
Taipei 228 Peace Park: https://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002090&id=R
The First 228 Peace Memorial Monument: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_228_Peace_Memorial_Monument
Chinese Nationalists aka Kuomintang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang
Republic of China (1912-1949): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_China_(1912%E2%80%931949)
History of Taiwan and Republic of China (1945-present): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Taiwan_(1945%E2%80%93present)
Martial Law in Taiwan: https://oftaiwan.org/history/white-terror/martial-law/
Nine years lost to ‘Popeye’ (an article from the Taipei Times): http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2017/09/24/2003679025
The “Kaohsiung Incident” of 1979 (an article from Taiwan Communique): https://www.taiwandc.org/hst-1979.htm
Formosa Incident (an article from OFT- Outreach for Taiwan): https://oftaiwan.org/history/white-terror/formosa-incident/
Formosa Magazine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formosa_Magazine
The Kaohsiung Tapes (from Taiwan Communique): https://www.taiwandc.org/kao-tapes.pdf
International Human Rights Day: https://www.ohchr.org/en/aboutus/pages/humanrightsday.aspx
Taiwanese Hakka: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_Hakka
https://taiwaneverything.cc/2020/10/08/hakka-people
Yao Chia-wen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yao_Chia-wen
A-bian (Chen Shui-bian): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Shui-bian
PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder): https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsd/what-is-ptsd
Green Island: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Island,_Taiwan
National Assembly Elections Coming Up (1991): https://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/tc52-int.pdf
Su Tseng-chang: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Tseng-chang
Hsieh Chang-ting (Frank Hsieh): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hsieh
Museum of Tolerance: https://www.museumoftolerance.com/
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr._Day
Martin Luther King Jr.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr
Indigenous Peoples’ Day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Peoples%27_Day
Memorial Day: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day
‘Cultural genocide’: the shameful history of Canada’s residential schools – mapped (an article from The Guardian): https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2021/sep/06/canada-residential-schools-indigenous-children-cultural-genocide-map
HoChie Tsai, speaker: http://hochie.net/speaker.html
The Life Journey of a second generation Taiwanese American : Dr. Ho-Chi Tsai (from the Taiwanese American archives): https://taiwaneseamericanhistory.org/blog/mystories554/
Check out Talking Taiwan Episode 29 (One of our earliest episodes, so please excuse the sound quality): HoChie Tsai about TaiwaneseAmerican.org: https://talkingtaiwan.com/tt025-ho-chie-tsai/
In 2001, 228 was almost downgraded from a public holiday to a memorial day: https://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/96-no4.htm
228 almost canceled in 2009: https://www.qppstudio.net/public-holidays-news/2009/taiwan-to-consider-cancelling-228-public-holiday-002061.htm
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2009/02/16/2003436230
Transitional Justice Commission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transitional_Justice_Commission#:~:text=The%20Transitional%20Justice%20Commission%20
921 (September 21, 2009) Earthquake: https://bit.ly/3uychlo
Taiwan’s Textbook Controversy and the Struggle Over Taiwanese History: https://newbloommag.net/2015/07/06/taiwans-textbook-controversy/
Taiwan Has Its Own Textbook Controversy Brewing: https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/21/taiwan-textbook-controversy-china-independence-history/
United States Holocaust Museum: https://www.ushmm.org/
Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park: http://museu.ms/museum/details/18264/national-human-rights-museum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jing-Mei_White_Terror_Memorial_Park
Chiang Kai-shek: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek
Gone but Not Forgotten: 7 Historic Sites to Learn More About the White Terror: https://taiwan-scene.com/7-historic-sites-to-learn-more-about-the-white-terror/
Martial Law in Taiwan (Chinese language article): https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/chinese-news-40593296
228-related Music:
1947 Overture by Tyzen Hsiao: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNCrnfhyUKw
228-related Movie:
Detention: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq0K2ipTaPM
228-related Movie:
A City of Sadness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLcnPS3FgNo
228-related Museums:
National Human Rights Museum: https://www.nhrm.gov.tw/w/nhrm/index
Green Island White Terror Memorial: https://www.nhrm.gov.tw/w/nhrm/GI_Visit
Armenian Genocide: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_genocide
Helping 228 Survivors Deal with Trauma: Dr. Michi Fu and Dr. Tsuann Kuo Work with the Transitional Justice Commission (Episode 172): https://talkingtaiwan.com/helping-228-survivors-deal-with-trauma-dr-michi-fu-and-dr-tsuann-kuo-work-with-the-transitional-justice-commission-ep-172/
LISTEN to Episode 228: Commemorating the 228 Massacre: Taboos, Scars, Stigmas, and an Essential Lesson in Taiwan History HERE
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