2-28-1947

A couple weeks ago, I was reading USA Today when a little picture almost squeezed out by an advertisement caught my attention. It was the independent Taiwan flag, and although the paper was black-and-white, I recognize that green and white of that flag anywhere. The caption read: "Demonstrators march for Taiwan Near Capitol: Taiwanese-American demonstrators mark the 60th anniversary of the Chinese massacre of Taiwanese people in 1947."

Apparently the Nationalist government suppressed comment on this incident until the early 90s. I never heard about it growing up, which is shocking considering how pro-Taiwan and pro-independence my family is.

It was my Chinese professor at UF, a caucasian American, who first told me about the massacre. "Really?" I remember standing in the doorway of her narrow office, resuffling the tidbits of Taiwan history that I had picked up to include this new fact. How does it change the way I see this history? the current political situation?

The USA Today caption says it was a "Chinese massacre", but don't be fooled: the government responsible for the massacre eventually fled to Taiwan when the communists took over mainland China. It imposed itself on the island, and the US supported this government for decades because it was a so-called democracy. (Really though, Taiwan didn't become a true democracy until I was in high school.) Taiwan's government, then, was responsible for this massacre. No wonder I am wary when I hear "democracy" and "independence" in our news.