A special exhibition on George Kerr — a US diplomat during the 228 Incident, an academic and supporter of Taiwanese democracy — has been organized by the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism to mark this year’s commemoration of the Incident.
The exhibition opened on Wednesday and is scheduled to run until May 22. It focuses on Kerr’s life, his experience of and writings on the 228 Incident and his contribution to democracy in Taiwan, as well as his transformation into a supporter of Taiwanese independence.
The 228 Incident refers to a massacre that begin on Feb. 28, 1947, that was carried out by then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government troops to quell a popular uprising. The massacre marked the beginning of the White Terror era. The number of people who were killed or went missing remains unknown, but some historians have put the figure in the tens of thousands.
Photo: Tsai Ya-hua, Taipei Times
As a witness, Kerr’s English-language writings about the 228 Incident had a major impact on Taiwan’s historiography of the event, said Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深), an Academia Sinica associate research fellow and a historian.
Chen added that viewing the 228 Incident from the perspective of a US observer is unique to Taiwan’s commemorative events and museum exhibitions on the subject.
Chen said that Kerr was in Taipei when government troops opened fire on civilians gathered before the provincial government compound.
Dining in a nearby venue, Kerr ran to the sound of gunfire and found six people with gunshot wounds lying on the square; after determining that four had died, he took the two wounded to a hospital, a courageous act that was applauded by the crowd at the scene, Chen said.
Kerr was forced to leave Taiwan after the 228 Incident, but remained in contact with pro-independence activists, and the White Terror led him to become a supporter of Taiwanese independence, Chen said.
Although Kerr was not a member of the pan-green camp, he was deeply concerned with the lives, liberty and future of Taiwanese people, for which he should be commemorated, Chen added.
In 1937, Kerr first visited the then-Japanese colony of Taiwan and stayed to teach English classes at the Taihoku First Middle School, Taihoku School of Higher Education and Taihoku College of Commerce, which respectively became the modern-day Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School, National Taiwan University of Education, and the National Taiwan University’s College of Law and College of Management.
During World War II, Kerr served as a US Navy officer and later as an analyst in the US Department of War, specializing in Taiwan.
In 1946, Kerr was made the US vice-consul in Taipei and after ending his service with the US government became an academic, teaching at institutions, such as Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.
Perhaps his best-known book about Taiwan is Formosa Betrayed, in which he detailed the 228 Incident and vociferously criticized the then-KMT government.
Kerr died in 1992.
The exhibition on Kerr, held in the Discovery Center of Taipei’s second floor, tells his story with personal and family photographs in seven thematically organized sections, including his early experience in East Asia, his career as an English teacher at Japanese colonial schools in Taiwan and his collection of Taiwanese historical artifacts and documents.
There is a section dedicated to the 228 Incident and a filmed interview with Kerr by Japanese interviewer Chosei Kabira.
The exhibition also revealed a previously unpublished recording of Kerr made in 1989 by a Japanese friend, in which Kerr talked about his experience in Taiwan and thoughts about the nation’s future.
“The special exhibition discusses transitional justice from an uncommon perspective and uses a more commercial and approachable way to convey the story of George Kerr. We hope it will inspire young visitors to re-examine the meaning of fairness and justice,” Department of Information and Tourism Commissioner Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏) said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated