2021-12-27

White Terror (Taiwan) - Wikipedia

White Terror (Taiwan) - Wikipedia

White Terror (Taiwan)

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White Terror (Taiwan)
Part of Chinese Civil WarRetreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan, and Cold War
228 by Li Jun.jpg
The Horrifying Inspection by Taiwanese paintmaker Li Jun, which describes the hostile environment in Taiwan shortly after the February 28 incident
LocationTaiwan (Taiwan Area of the Republic of China)
Date1947–1990s
TargetLeftistspolitical dissidentsintellectualshomosexualsTaiwanese indigenous peoples
Attack type
Politicidemass murderforced labourhuman experimentationwar rapegenocide
PerpetratorsGovernment of the Republic of China under the Kuomintang (KMT)
MotiveConsolidate rule over Taiwan after retreat from the mainland

In Taiwan, the White Terror (Chinese白色恐怖pinyinBáisè Kǒngbù) is used to describe the political repression on the civilians living on the island and the surrounding areas under its control following the February 28 incident by the Government of the Republic of China ruled by the Kuomintang (KMT).[1]

The period of martial law officially lasted 38 years and 57 days from 19 May 1949 to 15 July 1987, but authoritarianism and its climate of fear lingered for about a decade longer until the mid-1990s.[2] Taiwan's period of martial law had been the longest period of martial law in the world at the time it was lifted, but has since been surpassed by the Syrian 48-year period of martial law, which lasted from 1963 to 2011.[3]

Time period[edit]

White Terror
Chinese白色恐怖
Literal meaningWhite Terror

The term "White Terror" in its broadest meaning refers to the entire period from 1947 to 1987.[4] Most prosecutions took place between the first two decades as the KMT wanted to consolidate its rule on the island. Most of those prosecuted were labeled by the Kuomintang (KMT) as "bandit spies" (匪諜), meaning communist spies, and punished as such, often with execution.[4] Chiang Kai-shek once famously said that he would rather "mistakenly kill 1,000 innocent people than allow one communist to escape".[5]

The KMT mostly imprisoned Taiwan's intellectual and social elite out of fear that they might resist KMT rule or sympathize with communism.[2] For example, the Formosan League for Reemancipation was a Taiwanese independence group established in 1947 which the KMT believed to be under communist control, leading to its members being arrested in 1950. The World United Formosans for Independence was persecuted for similar reasons. 


However, other prosecutions did not have such clear reasoning; in 1968 Bo Yang was imprisoned for his choice of words in translating a Popeye comic strip. A large number of the White Terror's other victims were mainland Chinese, many of whom owed their evacuation to Taiwan to the KMT.[6]

Many of the mainland Chinese who survived the White Terror in Taiwan, like Bo Yang and Li Ao, moved on to promote Taiwan's democratization and the reform of the Kuomintang. In 1969, future president Lee Teng-hui was detained and interrogated for more than a week by the Taiwan Garrison Command, which demanded to know about his "communist activities" and told him "killing you at this moment is as easy as crushing an ant to death." Three years later he was invited to join the cabinet of Chiang Ching-kuo.[7]

Fear of discussing the White Terror and the February 28 Incident gradually decreased with the lifting of martial law after the 1987 Lieyu Massacre,[8] culminating in the establishment of an official public memorial and an apology by President Lee Teng-hui in 1995. In 2008, President Ma Ying-jeou addressed a memorial service for the White Terror in Taipei. Ma apologized to the victims and their family members on behalf of the government and expressed the hope that Taiwan would never again experience a similar tragedy.[9]

Victims[edit]

A Taiwanese political dissident after and prior to his execution

Around 140,000 Taiwanese were imprisoned during this period, of whom from about 3,000 to 4,000 were executed for their real or perceived opposition to the Kuomintang (KMT, Chinese Nationalist Party) government led by Chiang Kai-shek.[2] Most of the victims of the White Terror were men, however, a number of women were tortured and/or executed.[10]

Examples[edit]

Legacy[edit]

Since the lifting of martial law in 1987, the government has set up the 228 Incident Memorial Foundation, a civilian reparations fund supported by public donations for the victims and their families. Many descendants of victims remain unaware that their family members were victims, while many of the families of victims from Mainland China did not know the details of their relatives' mistreatment during the riot.

Film[edit]

Literature[edit]

  • Vern Sneider's novel A Pail of Oysters in 1953 was based on the officer's personal field survey revealing people's life in Taiwanese society under suppression in 1950s, was banned by Chinese Nationalists' authorities until being reissued in 2016 – 35 years after his death.[48][49][50][51]
  • Tehpen Tasi's autobiography Elegy of Sweet Potatoes (Japanese臺湾のいもっ子) in 1994, based on his testimony with the other political prisoners together for 13 months in 1954–1955.[52][53]
  • Julie Wu's The Third Son in 2013 describes the event and its aftermath from the viewpoint of a Taiwanese boy.[54]
  • Jennifer J. Chow's The 228 Legacy in 2013 focuses on how there was such an impact that it permeated throughout multiple generations within the same family.[55]
  • Shawna Yang Ryan's Green Island in 2016 tells the story of the incident as it affects three generations of a Taiwanese family.[56]
  • Ken Liu's The Paper Menagerie & Other Short Stories in 2016 includes a short story titled The Literomancer which references the 228 incident from the perspective of a young American girl who had recently moved to Taiwan, and asks both her father, who works on an American military base, and a neighbor, and old man named Mr. Kan about the incident. It develops on these two different perspectives throughout the story, becoming progressively darker.
  • Principle Jian Tian-lu's Hushen, a 2019 literature award winner expresses the humanity concern in contrast with the brutality on the first scene of 1987 Lieyu massacre.[57]

Games[edit]

  • In 2014, Sharp Point Press and Future-Digi publicized the Rainy Port Keelung with 3 light novels telling a love story in the background of Keelung Massacre during the Feb. 28 incident.[58]
  • In 2017, Taiwanese game developer Red Candle Games launched Detention, a survival horror video game created and developed for Steam. It is a 2D atmospheric horror side-scroller set in 1960s Taiwan under martial law following the 228 incident. The critically acclaimed game also incorporates religious elements based on Taiwanese culture and mythology. Rely On Horror gave the game a 9 out of 10, saying that "every facet of Detention moves in one harmonious lockstep towards an unavoidable tragedy, drowning out the world around you."[59]
  • In 2017, Erotes Studio produced Blue Blood Lagoon with the story of high-school students running for life to escape from the bloodshed of military conscription arrest, prosecution and execution during the July 13 Penghu incident.[60]
  • In 2019, Team Padendon publicized a ghost RPG PAGUI based on a true family story of the Kaohsiung Massacre victims in Feb. 28 Incident: An orphan raised by a temple uncovered his identity and looked for his dispersed family for over 60 years with no result until he died; an old lady in her 90s heard the news arrives but only find her son in the coffin.[61][62]
  • In 2020, MatchB Studio produced an adventure puzzle Halflight with two brothers playing near a base witnessed an execution site upon the Feb. 28 incident, and one fell missing in chaos, followed by the family being persecuted apart, so the little boy went back trying to find the younger brother, but only stepped into the worse ending in 50 years.[63][64]

Memorials[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Rubinstein, Murray A. (2007). Taiwan: A New History. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe. p. 302. ISBN 9780765614957.
  2. Jump up to:a b c Huang, Tai-lin (20 May 2005). "White Terror exhibit unveils part of the truth"Taipei Times. p. 2.
  3. ^ Barker, Anne (28 March 2011). "Syria to end 48 years of martial law"ABC/Wire. ABC News. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  4. Jump up to:a b Chen, Ketty (Winter 2008). "Disciplining Taiwan: The Kuomintang's Methods of Control during the White Terror Era (1947-1987)" (PDF)Taiwan International Studies Quarterly4 (4): 187.
  5. ^ Barnouin, Barbara and Yu Changgen. Zhou Enlai: A Political Life. Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. p. 38
  6. Jump up to:a b 張, 子午. "The Graveyard At The Center Of Taiwan's White Terror Period"The Reporter. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  7. ^ Tsai, Shih-shan Henry (2005). Lee Teng-Hui and Taiwan's Quest for Identity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 101–103. ISBN 9781403970565.
  8. ^ Hau Pei-tsun (2000-01-01). <8-year Diary of the Chief of the General Staff (1981-1989)>. Commonwealth Publishing. ISBN 9576216389.(in Chinese)
  9. ^ "President Ma attends White Terror Memorial"China Post. July 16, 2008.
  10. ^ Cheung, Han. "Taiwan in Time: The women claimed by the White Terror"www.taipeitimes.com. Taipei Times. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  11. ^ Forsythe, Michael (July 14, 2015). "Taiwan Turns Light on 1947 Slaughter by Chiang Kai-shek's Troops"The New York TimesArchived from the original on 27 October 2018. To somber cello music that evokes “Schindler’s List,” displays memorialize the lives lost, including much of the island’s elite: painters, lawyers, professors, and doctors. In 1992, an official commission estimated that 18,000 to 28,000 people had been killed.
  12. ^ Cheung, Han (July 10, 2016). "Students, soldiers and spies"Taipei Times. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  13. ^ Huang, Tai-lin (20 May 2005). "White Terror exhibit unveils part of the truth"Taipei Times. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  14. ^ Weng, Yu-huang; Chen, Wei-han. "Luku Incident survivor pens memoir of events"Taipei Times. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  15. ^ Prof. Sergey Vradiy (2020-02-20). ""Tuapse" Oil Tanker Episode in the History of Taiwan-Russia Relations" (PDF). Taiwan Fellowship, Center for Chinese Studies, National Central Library.
  16. ^ Lin Hon-yi (2009). "Chapter 4, 1953-1960" (PDF)The Closed Port Policy of ROC Government to blockade Chinese coast, 1949-1960> (MD thesis) (in Chinese).
  17. ^ Лев КАПЛИН. "The tragedy of the tanker "Tuapse"" (in Russian). Riddles of History.
  18. ^ Guan Ren-jian (2011-09-01). <The Taiwan you don't know: Stories of ROC Arm Forces>. Puomo Digital Publishing. ISBN 9789576636493.(in Chinese)
  19. ^ Zheng Jing, Cheng Nan-jung, Ye Xiangzhi, Xu Manqing (1987-06-13). <Shocking inside story of the Kinmen Military Murder Case>. Freedom Era Weekly, Ver 175-176.
  20. ^ Vitali Kalinin (1958). "Ch. P. - Chrezvychainoe proisshestvie"IMDb. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  21. ^ Victor Ivchenko (2021-02-21). "E.A. — Extraordinary Accident (Episode 1) 1958 film" (in Russian). All soviet movies on RVISION. Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  22. ^ Victor Ivchenko (2021-02-08). "E.A. — Extraordinary Accident (Episode 2) 1958 film" (in Russian). All soviet movies on RVISION. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  23. ^ "A City of Sadness". 21 October 1989. Retrieved 12 March 2017 – via IMDb.
  24. ^ "Xiang jiao tian tang". IMDb. 1989. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  25. ^ Chen, Guang-hsing (2001-05-01). "為什麼大和解不/可能? 〈多桑〉與〈香蕉天堂〉殖民/冷戰效應下省籍問題的情緒結構" [Why is ‘great reconciliation’ im/possible? De-Cold War/Decolonization, or Modernity and Its Tears] (in Chinese). 國際邊緣‧名家專欄 National Central University. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  26. ^ Liao, Shuyi (2015-07-11). "時光倒影 一場時代的荒謬劇 ——《香蕉天堂》" [Reflection in Time - A Redicule Drama of the Era <Banana Paradise>] (in Chinese). Merit Times. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  27. ^ Hsiao Chiu (2002-08-21). "香蕉天堂 \ 大時代下外省人的悲情故事" [Banana Paradise - A Sad Story of Mainlanders under the Great Epoch] (in Chinese). Taiwan123. Archived from the original on 2007-05-27. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  28. ^ "A Brighter Summer Day (1991) Awards". IMDb. 1993. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  29. ^ 管仁健 (2008-12-27). "建中學生的少年殺人事件簿" (in Chinese). Taipei: 你不知道的台灣. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  30. ^ Jonathan Crow"Good Men, Good Women (1995)"AllMovie. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  31. ^ "好男好女" (in Chinese). Taipei: Public Television Service. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  32. ^ 山田としを、原野為二、和田春子 (2017-09-03). "幌馬車之歌 (蔡焜霖)" (in Chinese). Evanmusictaiwan. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  33. ^ Stephen Holden (1996-03-23). "Heartbreak Island Film Review"The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  34. ^ Chyi Chin (2008-02-11). "Heartbreak Island" (in Chinese). HOTSAUCEL185. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  35. ^ Centre of Taiwan Studies (2014-07-28). "Film Screening: Super Citizen Ko and Q&A with Director Wan Jen"SOAS University of London. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  36. ^ Chen, Ping-hao. "<Super Citizen Ko>" (in Chinese). Taipei: Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  37. ^ "天公金 (2000) Forgotten or Forgiven" (in Chinese). 1905電影網. 2000. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  38. ^ Zhan, Zhengde (2019-11-15). "白色恐怖懺情錄" [White Terror Confession] (in Chinese). Medium. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  39. ^ "Lei wangzi"IMDb. 2009. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  40. ^ Holden, Stephen (2010-02-26). "When the Language of Diplomacy Includes 'Kapow!'"The New York Times. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  41. ^ Anderson, John (2010-02-26). "'A Prophet': The Crime Epic Reborn"The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
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  43. ^ "'Easier With Practice' captivates"Los Angeles Times. 2010-02-26. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  44. ^ Liao, Leslie. "Taiwanese hit film "Detention" based on true story". Taipei: Radio Taiwan International. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  45. ^ "DETENTION official trailer (with English subtitles)" (in Chinese). 華文創 Mandarin Vision. 2019-12-23. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  46. ^ "Bodyless trailer for ARS Electronica Festival". Prof. Hsin-Chien Huang. 2020-08-31. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
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  48. ^ Jackson, Grace (2017-03-09). "Remembering 2-28 Across Culture, Distance and Time". Taiwan Sentinel. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  49. ^ Hong, Keelung (2003-02-28). "My Search for 2-28"University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  50. ^ Portteus, Danielle (2006-06-15). "Back in print". Monroe News. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  51. ^ Cheung, Han (2016-02-28). "Literary redemption"Taipei Times. Retrieved 2021-08-04.
  52. ^ Prof. Jianyuan Zeng (2016). "哀音綿綿--蔡德本與《蕃薯仔哀歌》裡的嘉義朴子左翼青年身影" [Sound of Sorrow - Tehpen Tasi and the left-wing youth figure from Puzi Town, Chiayi County in "Elegy of Sweet Potatoes"] (in Chinese). 台灣法律網 LawTW. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  53. ^ "《靈魂與灰燼:臺灣白色恐怖散文選》獨家書摘:蔡德本《蕃薯仔哀歌》" [<Soul and Dust: Prose Selection of White Horror in Taiwan> - Exclusive Book Excerpt on Tehpen Tasi's "Elegy of Sweet Potatoes"] (in Chinese). Spring Hill Publishing and National Human Rights Museum. 2021-07-16. Retrieved 2021-08-09.
  54. ^ Winterton, Bradley (May 7, 2014). "Book review: The Third Son"Taipei Times. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  55. ^ Bloom, Dan (Aug 19, 2013). "US author probes 'legacy' of the 228 Incident in novel"Taipei Times. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  56. ^ "Green Island by Shawna Yang Ryan - PenguinRandomHouse.com". Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  57. ^ "【19屍20命】浯島文學首獎探討「三七事件」 小金門的殺戮時代" (in Chinese). Kinmen: Up Media. 2019-11-23. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  58. ^ "Finding Taiwanese Footprints of Taiwanese Through Games - An interview with the production team of <Rainy Port Keelung>" (in Chinese). Animen News. 2014-03-17. Archived from the original on 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  59. ^ "Review: Detention - Rely on Horror". Retrieved 12 March 2017.
  60. ^ 吳柏緯 (2017-04-05). "July 13, February 28 and Zheng Nanrong...Learn about Taiwanese history by playing games" (in Chinese). Taipei: Liberty Times. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  61. ^ Miaozaza. "這款恐怖遊戲把我感動哭了" [This Horror Game Make Me Cry] (in Chinese). Xi'anZhihu. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  62. ^ 福爾摩斯閃電貓 (2020-07-05). "為你解讀台灣省《PAGUI打鬼》最詳細劇情+官將首由來+背後的真實故事" [Analyzing in Details for the Plot of <PAGUI> in Taiwan + the Origin of Its Screenplay + the True Story Behind It] (in Chinese). Bilibili. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  63. ^ Chan, Sam (2020-04-05). "重雷<夕生Halflight>秒懂遊戲 故事背景、劇情簡介、暗指謎團解答" [Understanding the Game <Halflight> Story Background, Plot Intro and Hidden Answers to Puzzles] (in Chinese). Pixnet. Retrieved 2021-08-10.
  64. ^ 小魚 (2020-04-14). "《夕生Halflight #真結局》和過去和解的勇氣" [The Real Ending of Halflight - The Courage to Reconcile With the Past] (in Chinese). gamer.com.tw. Retrieved 2021-08-10.

Works cited[edit]

English language[edit]

Chinese language[edit]

  • 藍博洲,1991,幌馬車之歌。台北:時報文化。
  • 藍博洲,1993,白色恐怖。台北:揚智。
  • 呂芳上計劃主持,1999,戒嚴時期台北地區政治案件相關人士口述歷史:白色恐怖事件查訪(上)。台北:台北市文獻委員會。
  • 任育德,2003,從口述史看1950年代政治案件的女性受刑人,近代中國第154期。
  • 台灣省文獻委員會編,1998,台灣地區戒嚴時期五零年代政治案件史料彙編(一):中外檔案。南投:台灣省文獻委員會。
  • 魏廷朝,1997,台灣人權報告書,1949-1995。台北:文英堂。
  • 朱德蘭,2001,崔小萍事件,南投:省文獻會。
  • 向陽主編,2016, 打破暗暝見天光,新北市,國家人權博物館籌備處。
  • 曹欽榮、鄭南榕基金會,2012,流麻溝十五號:綠島女生分隊及其他,臺北市,書林出版。
  • 顏世鴻,2012,青島東路三號:我的百年之憶及台灣的荒謬年代,臺北市,啟動文化。
  • 余杰,2014,在那明亮的地方 : 台灣民主地圖 ,臺北市,時報文化。

External links[edit]

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