Taipei: The head of Academia Historica stated Thursday that late President Chiang Kai-shek holds the greatest responsibility for the 228 Incident, emphasizing that Chiang, who was leading the National Government at the time, aligned with then-provincial governor Chen Yi, allowing those responsible for the incident to escape punishment.
According to Focus Taiwan, Chen Yi-shen made these comments during his keynote speech at a forum on the 228 Incident, an anti-government uprising that began on February 28, 1947, following the assault of a Taiwanese widow by Monopoly Bureau agents over alleged contraband cigarette sales. The crackdown led by the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) resulted in the deaths and imprisonment of tens of thousands.
Chen Yi-shen referenced the provincial 228 Incident Handling Committee’s report from March 7, which identified the incident’s root cause as corrupt governance rather than the unlawful actions of Monopoly Bureau agents. He noted that relevant documents reveal differing opinions within the KMT, with Chen Yi exaggerating the situation’s severity when seeking military intervention from Chiang Kai-shek, characterizing the protests as a Communist rebellion.
Despite warnings from government officials like Taiwan Provincial Assembly speaker Huang Chao-chin, who argued that the rebellion label was inaccurate and that the incident stemmed from public discontent with corruption, Chiang Kai-shek largely ignored these dissenting voices, preferring to heed Chen Yi’s portrayal of events, Chen Yi-shen explained.
Chen Yi-shen further noted that when accountability was sought, both Chen Yi and others, including Kaohsiung Fortress Headquarters chief Peng Meng-chi, avoided punishment. He argued that official complicity, rapid troop deployment, and subsequent lack of accountability were significant factors in the 228 Incident’s enduring impact on Taiwanese society.
The forum took place at the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum and was hosted by Hsueh Hua-yuan, president of the Taiwan Association of University Professors.