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Chiang statues become targets as Taiwan confronts history

– Authoritarian icon –

As leader of the KMT, Chiang fought a civil war on the mainland with the Chinese communists before being defeated and fleeing to Taiwan in 1949, where he imposed martial law.

The island had previously been under Japanese rule until 1945, when it was given to China. Chiang remained its leader until his death in 1975.

Political opposition was banned and newspapers barred until martial law was eventually lifted in 1987.

But it was an incident 50 years previously that first sparked Taiwanese resentment.

The massacre on February 28, 1947 – known as the 2/28 Incident – saw troops brutally quell an anti-government uprising triggered when an inspector beat a woman selling untaxed cigarettes in Taipei.

Thousands of people were tortured and killed during the subsequent “White Terror” crackdown.

Though Chiang was not on the island for the 2/28 incident he has been held responsible for ordering the army to step in, and it has become an easy symbol for the animosity against him, which becomes particularly pronounced on the anniversary.

There were a record 30 attacks on statues of Chiang on February 28 this year, with one beheaded and others smeared with red paint.

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“Many of the attacks (on statues) were done by students, who believe Chiang is the icon not only of the Kuomintang’s authoritarian rule of Taiwan but also of a regime from China,” said Shih Cheng-feng of National Dong Hwa University in the eastern Hualien county.

“As Chiang’s statues are on every corner, they have easily become the targets of growing anti-China sentiment,” he said.

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