The 228 Massacre, 2/28 Massacre, also called 228 Incident by Kuomintang (KMT), or 2/28 for short, was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan that began on February 27, 1947 which was violently suppressed by the KMT-led Republic of China government and which resulted in the massacre of numerous civilians, beginning on February 28, or 2/28. Estimates of the number of deaths vary from 10,000 to 30,000 or more.[2] The incident marked the beginning of the Kuomintang's White Terror period in Taiwan, in which thousands more inhabitants vanished, died, or were imprisoned. This incident is one of the most important events in Taiwan's modern history, and is a critical impetus for the Taiwan independence movement.