Conclusion & Prospects

​Following the 228 Massacre in 1947, Taiwan was gripped by martial law for four decades, and calls for the rehabilitation of the victims of the massacre was unheard of until 1987 when martial law was lifted. The government began to address the issue at the strong request of people in 1990 and set up an ad hoc organization in 1995 to handle the issue after enacting a statue to provide a legal framework for it earlier that year. The 228 Memorial Foundation which was initially formed to distribute compensation, commemorate the tragedy and console the victims has been transformed into an organization in search of the truth behind the massacre and in pursuit of educating people about the massacre's significance in history and culture after 2000 when the country saw its first shift in power in history. In 2006, the government decided to turn the foundation into a permanent institute in charge of running the National 228 Memorial Museum with the mission of keeping the memory of the 228 Massacre alive through education and cultural activities. It also serves as a platform for international exchanges to materialize the transitional justice and to pass down the massacre's historical significance in order to reverse the 400-year-old self-denying heritage of the Taiwanese people.