On February 27, 1947, a skirmish between a cigarette vender and the anti-smuggling agents erupted into a full-scale clash between the government and the public, in which many people were killed or injured. A point of no return was crossed on that day, and the unrest spread from Taipei to across the entire island. In the military crackdown that followed, many innocent people were killed, and countless families lived in fear. For nearly 50 years, this tragedy has cast a shadow over the hearts of the people of Taiwan and created a psychological scar not easily healed.

The roots of the February 28 Incident reach back to long before the conflict erupted. After 50 years of Japanese rule, Taiwan had developed political systems, a legal foundation, and values that were vastly different from those in the Chinese "motherland." Even the people's internal consciousness had changed. Thus, when the mainlanders arrived in the early post-liberation period, the people of Taiwan were expecting to be comforted after decades of treatment as second-class citizens by the Japanese occupation government. The mainland, on the other hand, had long been embroiled in a war that brought to it unprecedented social, economic, and legal changes, and left no time for reconstruction. Under these circumstances, the mainland fell considerably behind Taiwan in restoring the rule of law.

The expectations of the Taiwanese after the island's return to Chinese rule came to naught. This enormous letdown stirred internal dissatisfaction, which was further fueled by poverty, government corruption, and conflicts of economic interests and cultural differences between the new arrivals and long-time residents. Governor Chen Yi and the local authorities became natural targets of attack. At that time, the Nationalist government, concerned with internal political problems on the mainland, neglected Taiwan and was unable to defuse the crisis in time. This led to the eruption of violence, which spread into a full-scale conflict that eventually was militarily suppressed.

Seen from a historical perspective, its clear that the February 28 Incident would not have occurred without these underlying factors. Thus, we cannot blame Chen Yi or any one person alone. Nor should we use sketchy logic to unravel the complex historical truths and responsibilities, or explain the incident away as simply a conflict between the residents of Taiwan and the government on the mainland. Careful and comprehensive analysis is the only way to uncover the full truth and prevent a reoccurrence such a tragedy. The February 28 Incident was a turning point in the history of Taiwan, considering the developments which proceeded and followed it. The incident exposed the wide gap that had developed between the government and the people of Taiwan in the early years after the war, and gave rise birth to a local consciousness and a political opposition movement. Over recent years, the February 28 Incident has been progressively ceremonialized through such memorial initiatives as compensation for victims, commemorative monuments and inscriptions, investigatory reports, group runs, and national holidays. When this process is completed, the incident can finally be assigned to history. But we must continue to sincerely reflect on the past and seriously look to our collective future, so that the lesson of the February 28 Incident will never be forgotten.