The 228 Incident (228 Massacre) - 60 years on, Part 1/3

Looking at some of the victims of the 228 Massacre of 1947.

Part 1 tells the viewers about how widespread the incident was and introduces Ouyang Wen (歐陽文).

The incident was set in motion on February 27, 1947 when Chinese agents from the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau in Taipei pistol whipped a cigarette vendor and shot a bystander before fleeing to a nearby police staation. The public quickly surrounded the station demanding justice, but the shooter had snuck out of a back exit.

More demonstrations happened the next day, and Chinese security forces used machine guns against the unarmed protesters. That same day, martial law -- which lasted until 1987 -- was declared.

Chen Yi, the Governor-General in charge of Taiwan, rounded up leaders island-wide, executing thousands. Taiwanese leaders were lured by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) under the pretense of negotiations and were instead executed as well.

In total, perhaps 30,000 people were killed, and thousands of others were imprisoned on false charges.

Mr. Ouyang reflects on the incident, telling us about the bravery of young female students who brought zongzi (a kind of rice dumpling) to him and his fellow fighters, and how he can still remember the taste.

Be careful to distinguish what's real footage and what's a reenactment.

Spoken: Mandarin and Taiwanese
Subtitles: Hanzi

Part 2/3 (08:01):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4wGlPxXLLM

Part 3/3 (09:33):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPpvFtsz6CE

UPDATE: YouTube user onepoundYAY has uploaded another video about Mr. Ouyang here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pas31w8cMdY

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Taiwan
• 台灣
• 228
• 二二八
• 228_Incident
• 二二八事件
• 60_years
• 一甲子
• SET_News
• 三立新聞

[Micklol]

...umm...I didn't mean to be insensitive but what use is this without English subtitle?

[TimMaddog]

It might be useful to people who are bililngual. ;-) I'd do the subtitles myself if I had the time and ability, but at the present time, I can't.

Anyway, I've added more to the description in the sidebar. (Click the "more info" link.) Sorry for not doing so a long time ago.

[changchangchanger]

stupid americans, for purposely letting kmt escape to taiwan

[TimMaddog]

Thank you for yet another display of complete ignorance by the Taiwan Haters Club.

[leejh27]

It was an armed uprising. What they fail to emphasize is that the mobs which were later headed by committees had taken guns from the police stations and were taking over government institutions like airports and such. This was not a protest. It was an uprising to essentially overthrow the ROC provincial government in Taiwan province. It was after the committee heads insisted in its demands to Nanjing that the committees continue to hold the weapons that the troops were sent.

[killerbug881]

FUCK you. you do not understand the whole thing. those people die in 228, you do not know how many people been kill by those people first, they get killed, that is what they should get. I really do not understand, those stupid Taiwanese

they like to kiss Japanese, but the Japanese treat them as second class citizen, they rather want to be a second class citizen than been a Chinese. even the Japanese prostitute do not want to be fuck by them,

[icefrappe]

independence was out of the question at the time mainly because taiwan had never been an independent country save for the shortlived republic of formosa of 1895 and they wanted to reward chiang kai-shek for fighting against the japanese.

the US failed to realize that taiwanese are not chinese. this massacre is the driving force of taiwanese nationalism and self-identity

[MarkSynthesis]

Perhaps the US should have been able to realize that a increasingly desperate, Fascist government would eventually murder its citizenry in desperation, just as every Fascist government in history had. At the same time, I understand that the United States had a limited number of options.

Taiwan could not be left with Japan, as they lost the war. And independence is out of the question. Perhaps a bad judgement call on the part of the US, but I'd blame the KMT first, for obvious reasons.

[TimMaddog]

artimeis wrote: "then you really can't say it is a massacre," then s/he wrote: "I will not promote any denial of 228." Can you say "contradiction"?

[artimeis]

Your point? I bet there were more people on the Taiwan side. Also, I just say this part is bad, rest of stories are good. I will not promote any denial of 228 and I do believe it happened.