Lest we forget

A bouquet of flowers is placed among lilies at a 228 memorial event in New Taipei on Saturday.

The 228 Incident refers to the bloody crackdown on protesters and dissenters in 1947 following the brutal beating of a tobacco vendor in Taipei by government agents on Feb. 27. The event triggered islandwide protests that were violently suppressed by the then-Kuomintang regime, leaving 18,000-28,000 people dead. CNA photo Feb. 28, 2026