Commemorative events are being held throughout the week as Taiwan marks the 60th anniversary of what is known as the "2/28 incident". The event was an uprising that began on 28 February 1947, sparked by the beating of a female vendor by authorities for selling untaxed cigarettes.

Between 18,000 and 28,000 people are said to have been killed in riots and a subsequent crackdown.

Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Kuomintang, or Chinese Nationalists - then based in mainland China - ordered his troops to Taiwan to quell the riots.

Two years later, he and his supporters fled to the island after losing to the Communists in the Chinese civil war.

For decades, when Taiwan was under martial law, the massacre was a taboo.