8/17/2006

2-28 Memorial at Ma Ting Cheng 馬町場

This plaque alerts passersbys of the 2-28 Massacre which took place starting in February 1947 when KMT soldiers killed 30,000 Taiwanese locals. According to the Chinese characters at the bottom, the stone wasn't set here until 2000. It blames KMT Governor Chen Yi for the bloodshed. There is however no mention of Chiang Kai-shek. Recent accounts from Chen Yi's bodyguards tell of a telegram from Chiang Kai-shek received by Chen Yi ordering him to "kill them all; keep it a secret." Lee Tung-hui, Taiwan's leader from 1988-2000, first acknowledged 2-28 in the 1990s. Ma Ting Cheng (馬町場) next to the Tamshui River (淡水) served as an execution grounds.

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