Introduction

Welcome back to Taiwan’s Untold Story, a three-part series from the Tocqueville Liberty Institute. I’m your host, Colonel Pete, and in this second installment, we’ll explore the tumultuous post-World War II era in Taiwan. From the arrival of the Chinese Nationalist regime to the tragic February 28 Incident and the oppressive White Terror period, this chapter traces the hardships that set the stage for Taiwan’s long journey toward democracy. Building on Part 1, which covered Taiwan’s indigenous origins and colonial periods, we now delve into a pivotal moment in the island’s history.

Post-War Hopes and Disillusionment

When World War II ended in 1945, Taiwan was relatively prosperous compared to Japan or mainland China. Despite the war’s hardships, the island sustained minimal bombing damage, its infrastructure remained intact, and its population was among Asia’s best educated. The arrival of Chinese Nationalist forces, led by Governor General Chen Yi, was initially met with optimism. After 50 years of Japanese rule, many Taiwanese hoped governance by fellow Chinese would bring greater autonomy and better treatment.

However, these hopes quickly turned to disillusionment. The Nationalist administration, representing Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China, treated Taiwan as a conquered territory rather than a liberated homeland. Mainland Chinese officials, many unfamiliar with Taiwan, took over key roles in government, education, and business. Unlike the strict but efficient Japanese colonial administration, the Nationalists were often poorly disciplined and openly corrupt. A Taiwanese saying from the time captured the sentiment: “The dogs have left, and the pigs have come,” referring to the Japanese as harsh but disciplined “dogs” and the Nationalists as corrupt “pigs.”

Economic Exploitation and Cultural Suppression

The Nationalist government implemented policies that systematically transferred wealth from Taiwan to mainland China. They established monopolies on industries like tobacco, alcohol, and sugar, forcing Taiwanese to sell products at artificially low prices, which the government resold at a profit. Reckless money printing caused hyperinflation, wiping out savings. Japanese properties and businesses, rather than being returned to Taiwanese ownership, were seized by government agencies or well-connected mainlanders. In extreme cases, officials even dug up water pipes to sell as scrap metal, causing water shortages and disease outbreaks.

Culturally, the Nationalists aimed to “re-Sinicize” Taiwan after 50 years of Japanese influence. They banned the Japanese language, despite many Taiwanese—especially the educated elite—being more fluent in Japanese than Mandarin. Mainland Chinese teachers, unable to communicate effectively with Taiwanese students, further alienated the population. These economic and cultural policies fueled growing tensions throughout 1946 and early 1947.

The February 28 Incident: A Defining Trauma

The breaking point came on February 27, 1947, in Taipei. A middle-aged Taiwanese woman, Lin Jiang-mai, was selling cigarettes without a license—a common practice amid economic hardship, but illegal under the government’s tobacco monopoly. When agents from the Tobacco Monopoly Bureau attempted to confiscate her goods, a scuffle ensued. An agent struck Lin with his pistol butt, drawing an angry crowd. As tensions escalated, the agents fired into the crowd, killing a bystander.

By February 28, protests spread across Taipei and the island, evolving from outrage over the incident to broader demands for political reform, an end to corruption, and greater Taiwanese participation in governance. Initially, Governor General Chen Yi appeared to negotiate, allowing a settlement committee of prominent Taiwanese to present reform demands, including self-governance and equal treatment. However, while pretending to negotiate, Chen secretly requested military reinforcements from the mainland.

On March 8, Nationalist troops arrived and launched a brutal crackdown, systematically targeting Taiwan’s intellectual and social elite—doctors, lawyers, teachers, students, and local leaders. Estimates of the death toll from this massacre, known as the February 28 Incident (or 228), range from 10,000 to 30,000. For decades, public discussion of the massacre was forbidden, creating what Taiwanese writer Lin Yi-hsiung called a “political amnesia” that silenced families of victims out of fear.

The White Terror: 38 Years of Repression

In May 1949, as the Chinese Civil War turned in favor of Mao Zedong’s Communist forces, the Nationalist government declared martial law in Taiwan, initiating the White Terror—a 38-year period of political repression, one of the longest in modern history. After their defeat on the mainland, Chiang Kai-shek and approximately 2 million followers—soldiers, officials, intellectuals, and businesspeople—retreated to Taiwan. The Nationalist government, now in exile, maintained the fiction that it was the legitimate government of all China, treating Taiwan as a temporary base to recover the mainland.

This stance had profound implications:

1. Oversized Government: The Nationalists maintained a bloated bureaucracy and military designed for governing all of China, now compressed onto a small island.
2. Mainlander Dominance: Mainland Chinese, making up only 15% of Taiwan’s population, dominated government, military, and education, marginalizing the Taiwanese majority.
3. National Identity Crisis: The regime’s insistence on a Chinese identity raised questions about whether Taiwan was a nation or a province of China—questions too dangerous to discuss openly.

Under martial law, civil liberties were suspended. Freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association were severely restricted. The Nationalist Party (Kuomintang or KMT) established a Leninist-style party-state, with party cells monitoring schools, businesses, unions, and religious organizations. The Taiwan Garrison Command, a secret police force, recruited informants and detained people without trial for minor offenses, such as critical comments or possessing “subversive” books. One story illustrates the climate of fear: a teacher was reported for telling a student to clean his “dirty collar and sleeves,” which in Mandarin sounded like “leader is dirty,” implying criticism of Chiang Kai-shek. She disappeared.

The Taiwan Economic Miracle

Despite political repression, Taiwan experienced remarkable economic growth from the 1950s to 1980s, known as the Taiwan Economic Miracle. Several factors drove this success:

1. Land Reforms: Learning from mainland failures, the Nationalists implemented equitable land reforms, freeing capital for industrial investment.
2. U.S. Aid: Between 1951 and 1965, Taiwan received approximately $1.5 billion in U.S. economic aid as an anti-Communist bulwark.
3. Export-Oriented Industrialization: Taiwan leveraged its educated workforce to produce sophisticated goods for global markets.
4. Pragmatic Technocrats: U.S.-educated technocrats implemented stable, growth-focused economic policies.

By the 1970s, Taiwan transformed from an agricultural economy to an industrial powerhouse, with per capita income rising from $186 in 1952 to over $2,000 by 1980. This growth created a large middle class and relatively equitable wealth distribution, unlike many developing economies. However, this economic success created a “legitimacy dilemma” for the authoritarian regime. As Taiwanese became wealthier and better educated, they questioned why political liberalization lagged behind economic progress.

International Isolation and Domestic Resistance

Taiwan’s international position weakened in the 1970s. In 1971, the United Nations recognized the People’s Republic of China as the sole representative of China, expelling Taiwan (then called the Republic of China). According to George H.W. Bush, then U.S. ambassador to the UN, Chiang Kai-shek rejected a compromise for a separate Taiwan seat, insisting his government represented all of China. In 1979, the U.S. switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, though the Taiwan Relations Act maintained unofficial U.S. support and defense commitments. These setbacks undermined the Nationalist government’s legitimacy.

Domestically, opposition grew through the Tangwai (outside the party) movement, a coalition of local politicians, intellectuals, lawyers, and church leaders. The Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, one of the few institutions not fully controlled by the KMT, supported Taiwanese self-determination. In December 1979, a Human Rights Day rally in Kaohsiung, organized by the opposition, was violently suppressed in what became known as the Kaohsiung Incident. The government arrested key opposition figures, including Lin Yi-hsiung, a prominent lawyer and advisor to Formosa Magazine, despite his absence from the rally.

On February 28, 1980—symbolically the anniversary of the 228 massacre—Lin’s mother and twin seven-year-old daughters were stabbed to death in their home, which was under 24-hour police surveillance. His nine-year-old daughter, Judy Lin, survived multiple stab wounds. The government claimed a “bearded foreigner” was responsible, but most Taiwanese saw it as a government-sanctioned assassination to intimidate the opposition. The murders backfired, galvanizing international sympathy and domestic resolve. The wives of arrested opposition leaders ran for office, won, and used their positions to advocate for their husbands’ release and democratic reforms.

In 1984, another assassination shocked Taiwan: Henry Liu, a Taiwanese-American writer critical of the KMT, was murdered in Daly City, California. An FBI investigation linked the killing to Taiwan’s intelligence agencies and organized crime, causing a diplomatic crisis with the U.S.

The Winds of Change

These events coincided with leadership changes within the KMT. Chiang Kai-shek died in 1975, succeeded by his son, Chiang Ching-kuo. Initially continuing his father’s hardline policies, the younger Chiang gradually recognized the need for reform. By the mid-1980s, international pressure, domestic opposition, and shifting attitudes within the KMT created momentum for democratic reforms.

Looking Ahead

In our final episode, we’ll explore Taiwan’s remarkable transition to democracy, the development of its unique national identity, and the challenges it faces in the 21st century. Thank you for joining me for Part 2 of Taiwan’s Untold Story. Stay tuned as we conclude our exploration of Taiwan’s journey from authoritarianism to one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies.

You can access Part 1 here.