Taiwanese American Historical Society

228 Incident (二二八事件)

3 min read

228 Incident (二二八事件)

Identity

FieldValue
Chinese Name二二八事件
Also Known As228 Massacre, February 28 Incident
DateFebruary 27–28, 1947
LocationTaiwan
CasualtiesEstimated 18,000–28,000 Taiwanese civilians
Aftermath40 years of martial law (“White Terror”); ~140,000 more imprisoned, tortured, or executed

What Happened

On February 27–28, 1947, after ROC police violently beat a cigarette vendor in Taipei, protests erupted across Taiwan against KMT corruption and repression. KMT troops were sent in and massacred an estimated 18,000–28,000 Taiwanese civilians.

This was followed by 40 years of martial law (the “White Terror” era), during which approximately 140,000 more Taiwanese were imprisoned, tortured, or executed.

Impact on the Diaspora Community

Intergenerational Silence and Trauma

Diasporic Taiwanese commonly report: “My parents never talked about it with me.” This silence was not simply family communication failure — it was an authoritarian playbook of abusing a generation and gaslighting descendants.

George H. Kerr’s “Formosa Betrayed” (1958)

  • Had an “explosive effect among overseas Taiwanese students”
  • For many, it was their first encounter in print with their country’s dark, forbidden history
  • The 1974 Chinese-language translation amplified impact further
  • Served as a foundational text for generations of Taiwanese democracy and independence activists

Blacklisting of Diaspora Intellectuals

Taiwanese scholars abroad (e.g., Strong Chuang) were blacklisted from returning to Taiwan. Many were forced to remain in exile, creating a generation of politically engaged overseas Taiwanese.

Diaspora Literature

Beginning in the early 2000s, Taiwanese Americans wrote novels in English about multigenerational 228 trauma:

  • Shawna Yang Ryan’s Green Island
  • Transitions in Taiwan: Stories of the White Terror (Cambria Press, 2021)
  • A Son of Taiwan: Stories of Government Atrocity (Cambria Press, 2021)

Identity Formation

As Dr. Chung-chih Li writes: “How one feels about the 228 incident becomes the guiding factor in the formation of their political position.” This holds true across generations in the diaspora.

The 228 Massacre functioned as what Ernest Renan called “shared suffering” — uniting the diaspora through collective trauma, creating a distinct civic Taiwanese identity separate from Chinese identity.

Activism from Abroad

Diaspora Taiwanese became crucial channels for disseminating suppressed history globally, contributing to transitional justice efforts, and pressuring Taiwan toward democracy from outside.

Connection to Albert S. Lai

The 228 Incident’s impact on the diaspora was a key research area of Dr. Albert S. Lai, whose work on Taiwanese identity formation and immigration history examined how this event shaped the Taiwanese American experience.

Notes

  • Wiki entry created: 2026-05-14
  • Sources: TaiwaneseAmerican.org, Global Taiwan Institute, The China Story (ANU), George H. Kerr’s “Formosa Betrayed”
  • Key concept: “Shared suffering” as unifying force for diaspora identity

Graph View

Backlinks