The 228 Peace Park is dedicated to those who died in the 228 incident. This incident started when a woman was beaten for illegally selling cigarettes. Angry bystanders started to revolt, and when a soldier’s bullet hit and killed one of the bystanders, riots ensued. Although the incident was not directly started by Chiang Kai-shek, as he was not in Taiwan at the time, the incident is linked to him as he did not fully address the damage, instead putting Taiwan under martial law and thus beginning the White Terror.
The park consists of many gravel pathways, trees, grass, and shaded areas for visitors to enjoy and reflect upon the incident. Located within the park is the 228 Memorial Monument, which consists of 3 cubes. Each of the three cubes represent the groups of people who were affected by the 228 Incident. These people were the indigenous tribes of Taiwan, the Chinese settlers of Taiwan that came from the Ming Dynasty who tried to escape the Qing Dynasty rule, and the post Chinese civil war military refugees who escaped communism
In the middle of the cubes is a large tower, and surrounding the cubes is a shallow, circular pond. This water trickles around the side before splashing off, representing the tears of the victims. Stones are placed on the pond to allow visitors to enter the monument. Tourists are supposed to enter on the right side, where there are black tiles, which represents how history is dark and violent, and exit on the left side with white tiles, which represents how the future is bright. In the middle of the monument is an open cavity to a waterfall, which represents the wailing of the families of the victims. Visitors are encouraged to place their hands on the handprints located in the middle of the monument and look down into the waterfall, causing a natural bowing motion to pay respects to those who died.
The monument is a somber look into Taiwan’s dark history and fights for human rights. Future tourists who visit the park and the memorial will find Taiwan’s path to democracy to be complex and tragic, and although Chiang Kai-shek was not solely responsible for all of the deaths, he allowed the shooting of citizens in order to remain in control, as well as covering up the incident in propaganda for years to come.
Our Thoughts
We visited the 228 Peace Park through a political history tour led by TourMeAway. During the tour, we noticed the shift in tone from other tourists as we visited the monument. As the tour group learned about its history, people quieted down and paid respect to those who protested for human rights. It was clear that the 228 Incident was not to be taken lightly, and it had long lasting effects on people’s view on nationalism.
