*"The Nationalist government in Taiwan has admitted that its army killed an estimated 18,000 to 28,000 native-born Taiwanese in a 1947 massacre…Until martial law was lifted on the island five years ago, it was dangerous to discuss the massacre with anyone but relatives or trusted friends…The spark for the massacre came when officials from the government tobacco monopoly, backed by about a dozen police, confiscated the goods of a woman selling cigarettes privately. They clashed with angry bystanders and a man was killed.

The next day, Feb. 28, 1947, an angry crowd gathered in the streets of Taipei, and rioting erupted. Troops fired on the crowd. The rioting was ultimately suppressed, but the army followed up in subsequent days by arresting and executing people thought to be capable of leading resistance to Nationalist rule. Many of those who died were among the island’s better-educated residents.

…the government report issued over the weekend acknowledged that corruption and misrule were fundamental causes for the rioting, and it criticized Chiang for failing to punish officials responsible for the killings.

Chiang “failed to think things over carefully . . . and left wounds that would not heal for a long time,” the report said… The only promise made so far by the government is to pay for a monument to the victims."* Wow, what a great “country” /s