Talking Taiwan Ep 228 | Commemorating the 228 Massacre: Taboos, Scars, Stigmas, and an Essential Lesson in Taiwan History
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228, February 28, 1947 is an important date in history for Taiwan. In Taiwan it is a national holiday known as 228 Peace Day, and since 228, which is also known as the 228 Massacre is just around the corner, we thought we’d share the first of 2 special episodes that we did last year for the 75th anniversary of the 228 Massacre.
At the same time, we wanted to share some community announcements for our listeners who might be looking for ways to commemorate 228. If you’re in New York, the Taiwan Center in Flushing, NY will be having a 228 Remembrance Memorial Service on Saturday, February 25, 2023 from 2:00-3:30pm. And for those in California, Josephine Pan tells me that annual 228 Commemorative Concert will be held in person again this year on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 7:30pm at the Arcadia Community Church. Both of these events are open and free to the public.
Full details for the 228 commemorative events in New York and California are listed below in the Related Links section.
This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.
NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:
1. to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
2. to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
3. to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
4. to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
5. to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.
To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
· How each guest first heard of or learned about 228
· How the 228 was a forbidden topic of discussion
· How my guests and their families were personally impacted by 228
· The Formosa Incident aka Kaohsiung Incident
· The White Terror and Martial Law era of Taiwan
· The writer who was sent to prison because of his Chinese-language translation of a Popeye comic
· Why the topic of 228 has been so taboo
· Tsuann’s grandfather who was a political prisoner during the White Terror era
· Post-traumatic stress
· What Tsuann’s relatives experienced and witnessed about 228
· Why Tsuann decided to try to help 228 victims and their families
· Green Island, the place where political prisoners were exiled
· The case of a 15-year-old girl who was jailed
· How political prisoners, after being released were ostracized by society
· How things banned during the Martial Law era included books, music, art or any medium related to communism or that was critical of the Kuomintang
· Personal accounts of people persecuted during the Martial Law era
· The families whose husbands and fathers disappeared due to 228
· What Josephine’s relatives experienced and witnessed about 228
· The privileges and overrepresentation granted to the Chinese vs. local Taiwanese under Kuomintang (KMT) rule
· The injustices in Taiwan’s society under the initial rule of the KMT
· Why it’s important to remember and understand 228
· The importance of healing from historic trauma
· Canada’s residential schools
· What Tsuann discovered about 228 survivors through her work with the Transitional Justice Committee
· Why Josephine started organizing an annual concert to commemorate 228
· How 228 became a national holiday in 1998 but has almost been cancelled as a holiday twice
· Comparisons of 228 Peace Memorial Day with U.S. holidays such as Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Memorial Day
· My guests’ thoughts on whether or not 228 remains a national holiday
· Indigenous Peoples Day
· How to commemorate 228
· What young people in Taiwan know about 228
· What was previously taught to Josephine, Tsuann, and Wei-Wei about Taiwan in their textbooks when they were high school students in Taiwan
· How the 228 Massacre has only recently been included in high school textbooks
· How the 228 Massacre is being taught in high schools
· The Jing-Mei Prison Museum in Taipei
· Music that was banned during the White Terror era
· Experiential ways to learn about 228
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