ABSTRACT
Taiwan was ruled by Japan as a colony from 1895 to 1945. On October 25, 1945, it was formally taken over and administered by the Republic of China (ROC) under the control of the Nationalist Party (Kuo-min-tang, better known as the KMT). But barely over a year and four months later, on February 28, 1947, the citizens of Taipei rose to protest against the unjust treatment of a woman tobacco vendor by government officers on the previous night. The shared anger against the provisional government of Taiwan Province and its officials caused island-wide turmoil simultaneously. They resented the officials’ multiple wrongdoings, corruption, nepotism, economic monopoly policies benefiting only the officials and merchants, and cultural discrimination against the islanders. The central government sent troops to the island and carried out bloody suppression until mid-May. The entire process, including the March Massacre, is known as the February 28 Incident.
