Museum Films Viewing Room

During the period of Japanese colonization, the Taiwanese engaged in a series of resistance movements. Thirty years before the 2-28 Incident, Taiwanese intellectuals, under the influence of worldwide movements for people's self-determination, started a number of social and political movements in a quest for democracy, freedom, equality, and justice. In 1920, a group of Taiwanese students in Tokyo started the “New Taiwan Citizen," a precursor of later Taiwanese social movements of the decade. Activists such as Lin Xian-tang led a movement asking the Japanese government to form a Taiwanese legislative body. At the same time, periodicals and journals that specifically represented Taiwanese interests were being published, including ‘Taiwan Youth,' ‘Taiwan,' 'Taiwan Citizen,' and ‘Taiwan New Citizen.' In 1921, Jiang Wei-shui gathered students and the leaders of various Taiwanese groups to form the ‘Taiwan Culture Association,' which was dedicated to starting a cultural awakening among Taiwanese. The first political party in Taiwan history, the Taiwan People's Party, was formed in 1927. Other movements also formed at this time, including the Taiwan Farmer's Association, the Taiwan Worker's Alliance, and the Taiwan Communist Party, all of which worked for farmers' and workers' rights. The Taiwan Local Self-Government Alliance, a more moderate group, was also part of the Taiwanese quest for self-rule.