On February 27, 1947, a middle-aged woman selling contraband cigarettes on Taipei's Taiping Road (present-day Yenping N. Road and Nanking W. Road) was apprehended and beaten by police and officials of the Taiwan Tobacco & Wine Monopoly Bureau. Passersby, angered by the act of brutality, attacked the officials, and in the ensuing commotion a citizen was fatally shot. The killing further incensed the people. They surrounded the nearby police station and the military police to demand justice, which was not forthcoming. Early the next morning, the protesters besieged the Monopoly Bureau as the matter intensified. In the afternoon, the demonstrators marched to the governor's residence (present-day site of the Executive Yuan), where they were fired on by soldiers from the rooftop. This resulted in the loss of many lives. At 3:00 PM, martial law was declared in Taipei City and troops patrolled the streets shooting people. This marked a turning point after which the situation rapidly deteriorated. close