For young people, February 28th Peace Day is simply a holiday, however, to the people who lived through it, the memories of the February 28th Incident will stay etched in their minds forever. In early 2011 as the Jasmine Revolution swept the world, using digital archives to reconsider the February 28th Incident can, perhaps, help us better understand and treasure peace.

How should the February 28th Incident be regarded. The views of the Incident of people on different sides of the Taiwan Straits, the Chinese Communist Party and the KMT naturally differ. In 1945, at the end of WW2, the National Government was ordered by the Allied General Headquarters to take the Japanese surrender in Taiwan, what is now called “Retrocession.” However, due to language, cultural and ideological differences, plus the effect of the parlous state of the economy after the war, the honeymoon of warm relations between the people of Taiwan and the National government quickly deteriorated to freezing point. In February 1947 bloodshed unfortunately followed the heavy-handed confiscation of cigarettes being illegally sold by a woman in Taipei;  a wave of anger quickly spread across Taiwan, in the face of which the Taiwan Provincial Administrative Executive Office began to make some political concessions.

However, what was described by George H. Kerr as “Taiwan’s Seven Days of Democracy,” was doomed and the members of the Taiwanese gentry who had made political demands were labeled as traitors agitating on behalf of Communists and Japanese Imperialism and were brutally crushed. From the first gunshot outside Tianma Teahouse to the end of the National Government’s “cleaning of the countryside” historians still cannot agree on the number of dead and injured, with estimates raging from under 1000 to several tens of thousands. This historical tragedy was the indirect cause of tension in the relationship between ethnic groups in Taiwan since and also created today’s Green vs blue political landscape.

Why has the Incident left such a deep scar in the minds of the people of Taiwan? The file of petitions received by the Provincial Assembly Council on December 20, 1950 gives us a clue. In it two women from Taipei, who were probably filled with trepidation considering the social atmosphere of the time, tell how their husbands, ordinary workers at Taipei Cigarette factory, were arrested by plainclothes police on March 19, 1947 and had not been seen since; a man arrested and detained by Southern Military Police told on his release he had seen their relatives. They thus requested that the Council ask the Southern District Military Police about whether their loved ones were dead or alive.

If our relatives went missing we would certainly put up notices on the streets and online, hoping that some kind-hearted person would reunite us with our loved-one, however, when the situation is caused by the government and its departments, and the atmosphere in society is so harsh, with everyone living in an atmosphere of fear caused by the state apparatus and intelligence units, what could an ordinary citizen do except beg for help from officials and hope for a miracle?  This tragedy didn’t happen in Egypt, Libya, Tiananmen Square, it happened 64 years ago in Taipei City. The words in the petition 「為此伏祈…臨呈迫切不勝泣血待命..」  are reminiscent of the film “A Very Long Engagement.”We don’t know if these two women were reunited with their husbands. If their husbands didn’t come back how did the women live the rest of their lives? When they handed in the petition they had already waited three years. How long did they wait in the end. History has not given us an answer.

Provincial Assembly Council (Dec. 20, 1950) “Letter from Cai Yue-jiao and Wu Chang-bao asking the Council to investigate the disappearance of He Guo-zhang and Wu Tian-fu who were arrested at their place of work on March 19, 1947 after the Feb. 28 Incident, and other letters.
http://catalog.digitalarchives.tw/dacs5/System/Exhibition/Detail.jsp?OID=1516114（browsed on Feb. 22,2011）。

How should the February 28th Incident be remembered? Who was responsible? These are very painful topics. It is extremely painful to lose a loved-one and also not easy to face up to the fact that the government you trusted and relied on isn’t always benevolent. History is not always a happy thing and we can’t always live in a fairy tale, but turning the sadness of the past into kindness and allowing all the groups of people who arrive in Taiwan to coexist peacefully is perhaps a basic value that is worth pursuing. Searching for the truth and then promoting reconciliation, ensuring that we extract positive heritage from tragedy is the joint responsibility of all in society. Through digital archives we have, at least, a window to the past, even though the scenery each person sees is different.

TELDAP e-newsletter Postscript
By inputting February 28th Incident” in the key word search in “Digital Archives,” members of the public can browse related digital archives. However, it should be remembered that the due to the special time in which they were produced they reflect the official viewpoints of the1940s and 50s and these often differ to those of the victims and their relatives. It is recommended that members of the public and researchers view these digital cultural assets as historical materials while keeping in mind the full picture. What these archives reflect is one face of a historical tragedy.