Taiwan Church News
3861 Edition
Feb 23 ~ Mar 1, 2026
Weekly Topical
In a Memorial Service, 228 Massacre Victims Remembered as Taiwan Lily
Reported by Lin Wang-ting from Kaohsiung
On Feb 28, 2026, the 228 Massacre Event comes to the 79th anniversary. In the afternoon on February 22, the PCT Church and Society Committee of Sou-San Presbyetry held a memorial service, named “Commemorating Taiwan Lily” at Hsin-Shing Church. Mr Chang Cher-wei, a commissioner of Chen Cheng-bo Cultural Foundation, was invited to introduce the life and paintings of Chen Cheng-bo, a victim in 228 Massacre. Rev Liao Zhi-wei, director of Education and Society Committee of Sou-San Presbytery, wished the public could understand 228 Massacre again by knowing Chen’s legendary lives and his passionate paintings.
Mr Chang Cher-wei first introduced various symbolic meanings of lily among different cultures, for example, in Da Vinci’s famous painting “Annuciation”, the angel holding a lily suggesting the purity of Virgin Mary. He reminded the audience, in fact Easter Lily had never been existed in Europe until it was imported from Japan in the 19th century. However, in Taiwan, a native Taiwan lily was introduced first ever by Taiwan Agricultural News in 1912 and reported in Taiwan Daily News in 1915, covering its dynamics to be a new star in the garden or grandiosely showcased within painter’s canvass.
In Chen’s famous and only painting of ”Lily”, the lilum concolor was the chosen species to show up. In Chen’s 1941 painting “Chang-Jung Girls High School’s Dormitory”, those white flowers blossoming in front of the girls were probably referring to lilies. In the painting, the girls wear uniforms and trousers, reflecting the change of women’s labor culture at the end of World War II.
Chen Cheng-bo’s arts always kept a keen observation and compassionate love for Taiwan. In 1945, he once sent a letter to Mr Chang Bang-jeh, an officer executive of Taiwan Province Council then, suggesting the government open an arts school to cultivate local talents. Chen also wrote an official project pleading to build a cultural foundation and a professional arts gallery to educate the public’s sense of beauty. As Chen engaged in public affairs more and more, Chen even was recommended as chairman of a civil group, joined the Nationalist Party(aka KMT), and elected as the first senator of Chiayi City Council.
In 1946, Chen attended the first round of “Taiwan Art Exhibition” and presented his three paintings: “Celebration Day”, “Children’s Playground” and “Factory”. These significant artworks showed his love of homeland Chiayi, dreams of the KMT and concern of future Taiwan economics from three dimensions: the people, the government and the industry. In the picture of “Celebration Day”, the building of Chiayi police headquarter is painted with a red national flag raised in a blue sky, and the flag image with shining sun is full of hope. But, ironically this police headquarter also became the site where Chen Cheng-bo was detained and executed in 228 Massacre.
After the outbreak of the 228 Massacre in 1947, Chen and other activists held a meeting at Suei-Shang airport on March 11 but never returned. According to the studies of Ms Hsu Hsuae-jih, a renown Taiwan history scholar, after Chen and others arrived at Chiyi’s site of tropic of cancer, they were immediately caught and tied up with thick wires by KMT soldiers and detained at the airport. After learning her husband was arrested, Chen’s wife – Mrs Chang Jie – carrying her children cried out for help but sadly failed in vain.
On March 24, Chen Cheng-bo and four other people were escorted to Chiayi police headquarter and executed the next day in a criminal charges of “mastermind of the insurgence”. On the day of the execution, Chen Chong-guan, Chen Cheng-bo’s eldest son, Chen Bi-nuih, Chen’s second daughter, both at the site. Chen Bi-nuih even pulled the soldier’s trousers to beg her father’s life, but was cruelly kicked away. Chen Cheng-bo was the last one to shoot, and his body was showcased to the public and no permission allowed to collect his body.
Because the hospital was unwilling to lend out the stretcher, Chen’s family had to take down the door plank and carry Chen’s body back. At that time, the photographic machine was rare, but Mrs Zhang Jie still asked photographer to take a photo for his martyred husband to remember his audacity and perseverance.
Mr Ou-yang Wen, a student of Chen Cheng-bo and a victim under KMT’s White Terror Era, later restarted his art career to paint the piece named “From the Dark to the Light”, symbolizing the resilience of the Taiwanese people in lilies. Mr Chang Cher-wei indicated that lily has changed from a symbol of purity in Western culture to an resilient icon from Taiwan’s grassroots, and even become a symbol of social reform. Mr Wang Wen-hong, chairman of Kaohsiung Southern District Assembly of 228 Massacre Association, remarked that Taiwan lilies had now become the iconic symbol of the victims in 228 Massacre.
At the end of the memorial lecture, hymns was played by the Quartet Orchestra of Amazing Grace Church. Ms Luo Yu-wen and Rev Chen Chia-hsian, members of Church and Society of Committee of Sou-San Presbytery, and Rev Huang Bor-ray, director of Youth Ministry Committee of Sou-San Presbytery, spoke with sign language, Taiwanese and the Chinese respectively, praying to God for His comfort and compassion to those victims and their family suffered by 228 Massacre, and more Taiwanese people would stand up to engage in public affairs with a heart full of resilience and courage. Finally, Rev Lin Yu-der, moderator of Sou-San Presbytery, delivered his blessings to the
assembly.
Translated by Peter Wolfe
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