When is Peace Memorial Day?
Peace Memorial Day is a national public holiday in Taiwan on February 28th.
If the holiday falls on a Saturday, the Friday before will be a holiday and if it falls on Sunday, the following Monday will be a holiday.
The memorial day was established in 1997 and seeks to solemnly commemorate the 228 Incident which started on February 28th 1947 and resulted in the deaths of thousands during a brutal military crackdown under the KMT rule.
History of Peace Memorial Day
In 1945, the defeat of the Japanese in World War II meant the end of 50 years of Japanese rule of Taiwan.
The Allied Forces gave temporary control of Taiwan to the Republic of China, so they could handle the surrender of Japanese troops and local administration.
Over the next two years, many locals became increasingly resentful of what they felt was the corrupt and authoritarian rule by the Chinese administration.
On February 27th 1947, a dispute between a female cigarette vendor and a Chinese official started civil unrest and open rebellions. The Chinese responded with severe military force and put Taiwan under martial law. Martial law was only lifted in 1987.
The estimates of the number of people killed range from 10,000 to over 30,000. The massacre became known as the 228 (February 28th) massacre and was the start of the so-called 'White Terror' period in Taiwan, in which thousands were killed, disappeared or imprisoned.
The subject of the 228 massacre was taboo for decades. It wasn't until 1995 that the event was first publicly acknowledged by a Taiwanese head of state and February 28th made a national holiday to commemorate the memory of the victims of the events of 1947. Since then, several monuments have been erected in memory of those who lost their lives, and Taipei New Park was renamed 228 Memorial Park.
How is Peace Memorial Day celebrated?
Every February 28th, the president rings a commemorative bell in memory of the victims of the 228 massacre.
The president bows to family members of the victims and each one receives a certificate that officially exonerates any victims who until 1995, had been blacklisted as enemies of the state.
