228 Incident - Background

Background

During the 50 years of Japanese rule in Taiwan (1895–1945), Japan developed Taiwan's economy and raised the standard of living for most Taiwanese people, building up Taiwan as a supply base for the Japanese main islands. Consequently, Taiwanese perceptions of the Japanese rule were significantly more favorable than perceptions in other parts of East Asia. Taiwanese adopted Japanese names and practiced Shinto, while the schools instilled a sense of "Japanese spirit" in students. By the time World War II began, many Taiwanese were proficient in both the Taiwanese language, a derivative of the Hokkien language which originated in Fujian province in China, and Japanese language.

Following the end of World War II, Taiwan was placed under the administrative control of the Republic of China to provide stability until a permanent arrangement could be made. Chen Yi, the Governor-General of Taiwan, arrived on October 24, 1945, and received the last Japanese governor, Ando Rikichi, who signed the document of surrender on the next day. Chen Yi then proclaimed the day as Retrocession Day to make Taiwan part of the Republic of China, although there were questions about the legality of doing so.

The Kuomintang (KMT) troops were initially welcomed by local inhabitants, but their behavior and the KMT administration led to Taiwanese discontent during the immediate postwar period. As Governor-General, Chen Yi took over and sustained the Japanese system of state monopolies in tobacco, sugar, camphor, tea, paper, chemicals, petroleum refining, Mining, and cement. He confiscated some 500 Japanese-owned factories and mines, and homes of former Japanese residents. Economic mismanagement led to a large black market, runaway inflation and food shortages. Many commodities were sold cheaply and shipped to China for the Civil War shortage where they were sold for profit furthering the general shortage of goods in Taiwan. The price of rice rose to one hundred times its original value between the time the Chinese took over to the spring of 1946. It inflated further to four hundred times the original price by January 1947. Carpetbaggers from China dominated nearly all industry, political and judicial offices, displacing the Taiwanese who were formerly employed; and many of the ROC garrison troops were highly undisciplined, looting, stealing, and contributing to the overall breakdown of infrastructure and public services.

Many Taiwanese view the Japanese rule favorably, both then and now. Many Taiwanese had served in the colonial administration and Japanese armed forces system. Because the Taiwanese elite had met with some success with self-government under Japanese rule, they had expected the same system from the incoming ruling Chinese government. However, the Chinese Nationalists opted for a different route, aiming for the centralization of government powers and a reduction in local authority. The KMT's nation-building efforts went this way because of unpleasant experiences with the centrifugal forces during the Warlord Era that had torn the government in China. The different goals of the Chinese Nationalists and the Taiwanese, coupled with cultural and language misunderstandings served to further inflame tensions on both sides.