228 Peace Memorial Park

228 Peace Memorial Park
Type Municipal
Location Zhongzheng, Taipei, Taiwan
Area 71,520 m2
Created 1900
Open All year
228 Peace Memorial Park
Traditional Chinese 二二八和平紀念公園
Simplified Chinese 二二八和平纪念公园
Taipei 228 Memorial Museum

The 228 Peace Memorial Park is a historic site and municipal park located at 3 Ketagalan Boulevard, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. The park contains memorials to victims of the February 28 Incident of 1947, including the Taipei 228 Memorial that stands at the center of the park and the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum, housed at the site of a former radio station that operated under Japanese and Kuomintang rule. The National Taiwan Museum stands at the park's north entrance. The park also has a bandshell and exercise areas.

History

The park was originally established in 1900 as Taihoku New Park (臺北新公園) during the Japanese colonial period,[1] on former temple grounds. It was the first European-style urban park in Taiwan, placed on the grounds of the Colonial Governor's Office (today's Presidential Office Building).

In 1930, Taiwan's Japanese authorities established a radio station at the site. The station initially housed the Taihoku Broadcasting Bureau, an arm of the Government-General Propaganda Bureau's Information Office. The following year, the Taiwan Broadcast Association was formed to handle island-wide broadcasts.[2] The Taihoku Park radio station became the center of broadcast activity for the Association.

The park was renamed Taipei New Park in 1945 by the Kuomintang authorities who replaced the Japanese after World War II in 1945. They renamed the broadcasting agency the Taiwan Broadcasting Company.[2] The station became the primary broadcast organ of the Kuomintang government and military.

In 1947, a group of protesters, angry over a brutal police action against Taiwanese civilians, took over the station and used it to broadcast accusations against the Kuomintang government. The action formed part of a chain of events now referred to as the February 28 Incident. A subsequent, more severe crackdown by the Nationalist government restored the station to Kuomintang control and ushered in Taiwan's period of white terror. Two years later, the Kuomintang lost ground in the Chinese Civil War and its leaders retreated to Taiwan. Trying to establish themselves as China's true national government in exile, they renamed the bureau the Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC).

The Taipei City government took over operation of the radio station building when the BCC moved in 1972. City officials made it the site of the Taipei City Government Parks and Street Lights Office.[2]

As Taiwan entered its modern democracy period in the 1990s, President Lee Teng-hui offered an official apology in 1995 and invited free discussion of Taiwan's past.[3] For the first time the February 28 Incident of 1947 was officially acknowledged and its significance openly debated.[4] In 1996, the Taipei City Government designated the former radio station building a historical site. Two years later, the building was made the home of the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum and the park was rededicated as 228 Peace Memorial Park.[2][5]

The 228 Massacre Monument

The 228 Massacre Monument was designed by Taiwanese architect Deh Tzu-tsai,[6] who was convicted of attempted murder in 1971 following a 1970 assassination attempt on Chiang Ching-kuo.[7] After serving his sentence, he was imprisoned for illegal entry to Taiwan in 1991[8] and filed his design entry from prison.[9] The Monument is inscribed with an exhortation for peace and unity.[10]

Mistrust between Taiwanese and mainlanders, and the argument on whether Taiwan should declare independence or be united with China, have become hot issues with potentially worrisome implications. [...] the task of healing a serious trauma in a society must depend on the whole-hearted collaborative effort by all its people. [...] It is also hoped that these words will serve as a warning and a lesson to all Taiwanese compatriots. Henceforward, we must be one, no matter which communal group we belong; we must help each other with compassion and treat each other with sincerity; we must dissolve hatred and resentment, and bring about long lasting peace. May Heaven bless Taiwan and keep it evergreen.
— Trustees of the 228 Memorial Foundation, Translation of the Inscription on the 228 Massacre Monument

Cultural references

Transportation

The nearest Taipei Metro station is National Taiwan University Hospital Station.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Allen, Joseph R. (2005). Exhibiting the Colony, Suggesting the Nation: The Taiwan Exposition, 1935 (PDF). Modern Language Association (MLA). Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Taipei 228 Memorial Museum (臺北228紀念館)". culture.tw. Taiwan Ministry of Culture. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Taiwan commemorates anniversary of 1947 massacre by nationalists". The Manila Times. AFP. March 1, 1998. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  4. ↑ Hsiao, Edwin (March 9, 2007). "Sixty years on, nation marks February 28 Incident". Taiwan Today. Taipei. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  5. ↑ Tung, Beryl (March 1, 1997). "Taipei dedicates park to massacre victims". The Nation. Bangkok. Reuter. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Ian (December 13, 1994). "Taiwan builds memorial to once-forbidden subject: massacre of 20,000 in 1947". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Taiwan native found guilty of trying to kill politician". The Montreal Gazette. May 19, 1971. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  8. ↑ Shu, Catherine (August 25, 2010). "Weaving Taiwanese History". Taipei Times. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  9. ↑ Kuo, Patricia (February 20, 1994). "Former fugitive designs monument". Bowling Green Daily News. AP. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Translation of the Inscription on the 228 Massacre Monument". taiwandocuments.org. Trustees of the 228 Memorial Foundation. February 28, 1998. Retrieved November 13, 2014.

Further reading

External links

Coordinates: 25°2′30″N 121°30′53″E / 25.04167°N 121.51472°E / 25.04167; 121.51472

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 228 Memorial Park.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/14/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.