July 13 Penghu incident

The July 13 Penghu incident (from Chinese: 七一三澎湖事件) refers to a forced conscription of refugees that occurred during the Republic of China's (ROC) White Terror in 1949.^[1]

5000 students and teachers fleeing the Chinese Civil War from Shandong in mainland China were relocated to the Penghu archipelago near the island of Taiwan.^[1] The ROC promised that their education would continue while serving as part-time soldiers. Instead, the refugees were made full-time soldiers. Student protests broke out on July 13 and were violently suppressed by the military. Some protesters being stabbed with bayonets, while others were reportedly killed.^[1][2]

Some teachers and principals publicly supported the students;^[1] some may have attempted to notify higher authorities of the abuses. In response, the military arrested hundreds of students toward the end of July. The prisoners were tortured into false confessions of being communist spies. The supportive teachers and principals were implicated and arrested. 40 stood trial in Taipei. Two principals and five students^[2] were publicly executed;^[1] their deaths were announced on December 12.^[2]

In 2019, the 70th anniversary, the incident was commemorated by an exhibition from the National Human Rights Museum of Taiwan. The exhibition was hosted at the Penghu Reclamation Hall in Penghu and the Jing-Mei White Terror Memorial Park in Taipei.^[1]

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