TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Ministry of Education has launched a web portal to highlight overlooked chapters of the nation’s authoritarian past.
Under Taiwan’s 12-year curriculum, transitional justice is mainly covered in social studies. The new platform is designed to supplement these lessons, offering videos, guided readings, and other resources, according to CNA.
Each month highlights a key historical event or figure. The first feature focuses on the 228 Massacre of 1947.
A video featuring Lan Shih-po (藍士博), executive director of the 228 Memorial Foundation, explains the causes, events, and consequences of the incident, and how it paved the way for the White Terror period.
After World War II, Taiwan’s governance shifted from Japan to the KMT government. Early hopes for a better era were quickly undermined by corruption, abuse of power, and economic mismanagement.
Public frustration erupted on Feb. 27, 1947, when authorities violently cracked down on illegal cigarette sales. The next day, residents staged a march, which was met with gunfire.
Local representatives attempted to negotiate reforms, but former Governor Chen Yi (陳儀) called in troops from China. The crackdown escalated into widespread killings and looting that lasted into May, marking the beginning of the White Terror, during which tens of thousands of Taiwanese were imprisoned, exiled, or executed for political dissent, according to National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.
“History lives not just in books, but in the land itself,” said Education Minister Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀). “Understanding our past helps us appreciate the present and protect the values of democracy and freedom.”
