In partnership with the 228 Memorial Foundation (Taiwan) and the UW Tateuchi East Asia Library, the UW Taiwan Studies Arts & Culture Program welcomes you to our 228 Memorial Roundtable Discussion: 228: From Atrocity to Transitional Justice in Taiwan!
The 228 Incident—the violent suppression of anti-government protests on February 28, 1947, by the Nationalist government—marked the beginning of decades of martial law in Taiwan, a period known as the White Terror. This pivotal event continues to shape discussions on transitional justice, social memory, and democratization.
This roundtable explores the historical significance of the 228 Incident and examines how cultural productions, institutions, academia, and education contribute to representing and remembering both lived histories and collective memories. By analyzing the ways in which historical trauma is documented, taught, and memorialized, the discussion will shed light on the broader role of cultural engagement, academic scholarship, and educational practices in Taiwan’s ongoing process of transitional justice.
SPEAKERS
Sylvia Li-chun Lin, formerly Associate Professor of Chinese at the University of Notre Dame, is currently a free-lance translator. In her previous incarnation, she conducted research on literary journals and culture of the Republican era, language and identity in Taiwan, and commemoration of government atrocity. Her publications include Representing Atrocity in Taiwan: The 2/28 Incident, White Terror in Fiction and Film, and essays on documentary films.
James Lin is a historian of Taiwan and its interactions with the world in the 20th century. His book, In the Global Vanguard: Agrarian Development and the Making of Modern Taiwan (University of California Press 2025), examines rural reform and agricultural science in China and Taiwan from the early 20th century through the postwar era, then its subsequent re-imagining during Taiwanese development missions to Africa, Asia, and Latin America from the 1950s onward.
SHIU Wen-Tang holds a Ph.D. from Université de Paris-Diderot VII (Paris 7 University). He is a retired Associate Research Fellow at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica. His research expertise includes the diplomatic history of the Republic of China, the 228 Incident in Taiwan, the history of Sino-French relations, and the history of Sino-Vietnamese relations. He has served as the President (2021–2022) and Secretary-General (2023–2024) of the Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP).
MODERATOR
Ellen Y. Chang is Director of Arts and Culture at the UW Taiwan Studies Program and a Ph.D. Candidate in Cinema & Media Studies. Her research explores the intersection of Taiwanese video art, cinema, and popular culture as processes of aesthetic decolonization. She also investigates how sound and audio walks engage with themes of everyday politics across international contexts.