228 Incident Anniversary: Revisiting Resistance and Bloodshed in Kaohsiung
Bullet holes can be found in historic buildings all around Kaohsiung, remnants of clashes between the Nationalist authorities and anti-government protesters spurred by the 228 Incident in 1947. TaiwanPlus takes a look at the former city hall, an old train station and a high school where acts of resistance and bloodshed took place.
Here at the Kaohsiung Museum of History, these patched up bullet holes around the entrance are a stark reminder of Taiwan’s tragic past.
The building, formerly Kaohsiung City Hall, was one of the main targets of state violence during a bloody crackdown by the Chinese Nationalist Kuomintang authorities on anti-government protestors, known as the 228 Incident.
A conflict on February 28, 1947 between police and civilians in Taipei escalated until it spread across the country. Concerned citizens in Kaohsiung attempted to hold discussions with local military leaders, but those talks ended in bloodshed, outside this very building.
Those in power back then
used extremely brutal methods
relying on political and military force
to completely silence people
and suppress their thoughts.
They thought this was the simplest approach
but the consequences of their actions
would be something studied for decades to come.
REPORTER:
An estimated 20,000 people across Taiwan would die in the following months.
79 years later, the museum hosts a permanent exhibition on the city’s links to the 228 Incident, including a model of the clashes in front of the then-city hall, which has now been deemed “a site of historical injustice.”
Reminders like this are all around Kaohsiung, like the former Japanese-era Kaohsiung Train Station, now integrated into the city’s central transit station.
But the landmark is also a site of tragedy. Government troops took over the train station to violently crack down on rioters. Here, you can see some of the old station walls are still visible.
Just across the street from the old train station is Kaohsiung High School, which was the home of the city’s self-defense corps.
Nearly 80 years ago, young students wanting to protect their city from government forces gathered here at this high school. But they were no match for the Nationalist army. Bullet marks can still be seen on this red-bricked building on campus.
At least one student died in the violence. It’s considered to be the only school in Taiwan targeted by the army following the 228 Incident.
Some repairs were done to the wall in the past
but some parts are still shattered.
Also, some students were moved [by the history]
and wrote some [commemorative] words on the wall
which have been left for many years.
REPORTER:
The school hosts memorial events every year, and students now say their school’s history is a source of pride.
Every day when I pass by this building
I can see the spirit of our earlier schoolmates
who fought for democracy and freedom.
Seeing the struggles of those schoolmates
makes us cherish our current democratic
and free way of life even more.
The courage of the students who formed
the self-defense corps to protect others
their willingness to face pressure
from the military and government
and their ability to make independent judgements
is something that we still admire today.
REPORTER:
Kaohsiung’s resistance to the Nationalist authorities is a spirit that continued, as it became a major hub for Taiwan’s pro-democracy movement. A campaign that would only succeed decades later, after one of the world’s longest-lasting periods of martial law finally ended.
Now, these historical landmarks in Kaohsiung serve as both a tribute to the victims and as a reminder of the city’s deadly struggles for democracy.
Scott Huang and Tiffany Wong in Kaohsiung, for TaiwanPlus.
