EDITORIAL: Confronting an uncomfortable pastToday marks the 79th anniversary of the 228 Incident, an anti-government protest that began on Taipei’s Dihua Street (迪化街) the morning after a Taiwanese widow — accused of selling contraband cigarettes — was assaulted by Monopoly Bureau agents. Their stories are not abstractions from a distant past — they are lived experiences that continue to shape family histories and collective consciousness. Confronting uncomfortable chapters in a nation’s history is not an act of division, but rather a prerequisite for reconciliation grounded in honesty. It is about safeguarding the principles that emerged in the decades that followed — accountability, political pluralism and respect for human dignity. In remembering 228 with clarity and resolve, Taiwan affirms not only its past, but the democratic future it has chosen and continues to build.

Source: Taipei Times February 27, 2026 18:21 UTC