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Two Twenty Eight in Taiwan

While "2/28" doesn't sound quite as familiar as "9/11," in Taiwan it has just as much meaning, symbolizing a February 28, 1947 massacre of Taiwanese by the then-Republic of China. And that's why Taipei's National 228 Memorial Museum--which opened on February 28 ten years ago--was an extremely popular place to visit this week.

While the historical and political value of the 228 is something we won't (and can't) dispute, what interested us especially was the rules for museum visitors. They include:

Please wear proper attire, i.e., no slippers.
Please do not smoke or bring food into the museum (includes chewing gum and betelnut).
Please do not speak loudly or engage in horseplay inside the museum.
Please keep in mind that handling museum articles can damage them, and unduly influence other visitors.

Exactly how touching a museum article (not that we condone this) can unduly influence another visitor is a bit of a mystery. But what we are clear about is that we should bring along with us a betelnut-chewing horse wearing slippers. Politics, history and etiquette lessons, all in one.

[Photo: davidreid]

Related Stories:
· Taiwan Museum to Represent Change [Post Chronicle]
· Visit to the 228 Museum [David on Formosa]
· 228 Incident [Wikipedia]