Chiang Kai-shek bears main responsibility for 228 Incident: Academia head

Taipei, Feb. 26 (CNA) The head of Academia Historica said Thursday that late President Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) bears the greatest responsibility for the 228 Incident, noting that Chiang, who then led the National Government, sided with then-provincial governor Chen Yi (陳儀) and allowed the perpetrators to go unpunished.

Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深) made the remarks during his keynote speech at a forum on the 228 Incident, an anti-government uprising that erupted on Feb. 28, 1947, after a Taiwanese widow was assaulted by Monopoly Bureau agents for allegedly selling contraband cigarettes a day earlier.

Tens of thousands of people were killed or imprisoned by the then-ruling Kuomintang (KMT) in the crackdown that followed.

In the aftermath, the provincial 228 Incident Handling Committee revealed in its March 7 report that the root cause of the incident was not the unlawful conduct of Monopoly Bureau agents, but rather the result of corrupt governance, Chen Yi-shen told the forum, which was organized by the Taiwan Association of University Professors.

Relevant documents also show there were differing opinions within the KMT at the time, with Chen Yi exaggerating the severity of the situation when requesting troops from Chiang Kai-shek, portraying the protests as a Communist rebellion instigated by agitators, Chen Yi-shen said.

However, some within the government, including Taiwan Provincial Assembly speaker Huang Chao-chin (黃朝琴), warned Chiang that the characterization of a rebellion was false and that the incident had been triggered by public anger over a corrupt political system, Chen Yi-shen said.

According to Chen Yi-shen, Chiang Kai-shek largely ignored dissenting voices and was highly selective in the information he chose to accept, preferring to listen to Chen Yi.

Furthermore, when those responsible were later called to account, both Chen Yi and others, including Kaohsiung Fortress Headquarters chief Peng Meng-chi (彭孟緝), escaped punishment, he added.

The combination of official complicity, the rapid deployment of troops, and the subsequent lack of accountability were major reasons why the 228 Incident became a deep scar in Taiwanese society, Chen Yi-shen said.

The forum on Thursday was held at the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum and hosted by Hsueh Hua-yuan (薛化元), president of the Taiwan Association of University Professors.