As a result, it was the only monument throughout Taiwan that mentioned the 228 Incident until activists put one up in Chiayi in 1989 to commemorate the victims. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia CommonsBut when the 228 Incident took place, local youth were more than eager to support the cause. The situation was so tense that the Taiwan Garrison Command was afraid to send reinforcements to Taiwan from Penghu out of fear that locals would use the opportunity to rebel, Hsu writes. After one especially egregious incident, Chao and a few friends spent one night painting anti-KMT slogans around town. As the violence spread across Taiwan, governor-general Chen Yi (陳儀) secretly requested help from China while pretending to seek peace.

Source: Taipei Times February 20, 2021 15:56 UTC